Blades of Alliance
by LowePlays
Summary: Zeke has been dying to play the new VR game of the year. But so has everyone else. He still manages to get one of the copies and immediately goes home to play it, but what he finds inside the world of ones and zeros is not what he expected. He finds friends and enemies. And Death all around him. Rated T for language and some other stuff. Enjoy! Leave your comments and suggestions.
1. Entering the World

**Hey, guys. I've got a new story. I know I've never been able to really get into my own stories but this one's already a good five chapters. So I'll be able to really get this one out and I'll post when ever I feel like it's ready... Also means the story gets good reviews. But I'm not here to ramble, so enjoy the story.**

**(*EDITED*)**

* * *

The fifteen year old boy named Zeke had waited two whole days to get a copy of the new game. He'd heard of the game for over a year now and finally it was going to be released. Even when he got there, to the small game shop of their city, there was at least six- maybe seven hundred people just waiting there for the chance to buy the game. The night he went out, he hadn't expected so many other people would have the same idea as him. After all, they were only releasing fifteen thousand copies of the game. Although it was a long wait, it was worth it.

After two days of waiting in an extremely long line and not being English, Zeke finally entered behind the red hair guy that had been in front of him for these past hours. After such a wait, he couldn't stand it any longer. He dashed up to the counter and shoved his one hundred eighty Euros over the counter and had his dream come true. The bored looking clerk at the counter reach behind him and handed a package into Zeke's open arms.

The second the red box was firmly in his arms and his pack on his back, the boy raced home. He ran the whole two kilometers to his room and, though tired, shredded open the plastic-like cardboard and gingerly removed the shining, but heavy-ish headgear that looked more like a hair band with tentacles and two input slots. His SymGear. Laying it aside, still in it's protective screens, he reached in and withdrew the cables and the game port. The port looked like one of those old cassette cases made from metal. A power box was attached and a WAN connector was on top.

Zeke had owned a computer for years. He'd watch the development of the computer since he was seven in 2016. Now he was eight years older and now he was about to play the most anticipated game of the year. He stripped the game port of the it's anti static wrapper and plugged the cable into the back of his gaming cube computer. His computer had cost him his whole three years of savings when he'd heard the requirements to play the new game. It was, all of it, worth the cost.

It was simple for the enthusiastic teen to install the case and the data for it. The one twenty Gigabytes of downloaded was nothing now. Eight years ago, it would have taken hours. Now, it took about twenty-five minutes. It only goes to show how much this world's electronic power how grown. But the kid in question had twenty-five restless minutes to himself.

During this time, he removed the rest of the contents of the mutilated box. He drew out a small box of screws and clips and whatnots to lock everything like cables in place. He did as the instructions said, even going as far as moving his bed around his messy room to his computer. The download had only gone through about thirty- thirty-one GB. He opened a small plastic box and pulled out a stack of manuals, maybe one and a half inches of loosely packed pamphlets. He skimmed over all six of them, absorbing about half of the knowledge he read. It was cool, even while reading almost anything else bored him. It had allowed his computer to eat through about a hundred GB. The estimated time read it still had about six and a half minutes.

Zeke had ground his teeth at waiting for two days, playing all his games to boredom. Now he didn't know what to do. He'd never been good at waiting, but he'd always managed to survive, though some he'd thought he wouldn't make it. Now he took out the game cartridge. The red and streaked white title sticker had it's golden letters say the name. It was called 'Alpha Blades Online'. It was abbreviated like all long names to ABO. The cartridge was about the size of a deck of playing cards.

Zeke was closely inspecting the pins for bends when his computer emitted a ding like a bell, alerting him to the finished download. He sprang up as fast as he was able, mainly from nerves. It was time. He pulled open the port and carefully inserted the cartridge. He clicked down the port and pushed the WAN activation button. He then threw off the headgears casings and slipped it over his head. It took some time to position the small connectors but finally, when he clicked the button on the side, the heavy band expanded into a helmet, covering his eyes.

Almost as soon as his vision cut out, it was turned back on by electrical impulses the helmet created. There was a green digital clock in the right hand corner that said it was 14:38. The server started over eight minutes ago! Zeke knew the sight he had was synthetic, but it looked as real as anything in real life, even if what he saw could never exist.

A floating cube the size of his vision was there and he could see nothing but that. He could still feel his body, his bed. He only couldn't see. Well, at least not his room. On the cube, which was like a white liquid, flowing around and shimmering with nonexistent light. On one side was a set of black and white, quite literal, instructions and on the other was a diagram. Then, out of nowhere was a woman's voice. She read out the instructions.

"Please touch your body in the diagram to the right as shown. This is to help the SymGear to map out your nervous system-" The voice cut out when Zeke touch both of his forearms, only to start reading the next set. "Good. Now follow the next set of instructions." Zeke obliged and touched his shoulders. After six or seven minutes of this the cube disappeared and another one took it's place. But this one was golden and it was a cube that had the glowing red and white text of Alpha Blades Online on it. The game selection menu. Zeke reached forward and touched the cube and something like highly charged static electricity shocked his finger where it touched. But when he pulled away his finger to cradle it, everything disappeared. He couldn't feel his bed anymore. He couldn't feel anything, in fact. He felt weightless. It was all very cool, yet scary.

"Welcome to the character creation! Here, in Alpha Blades Online, your SymGear will scan your body data and create an avatar to closely resemble you. Differences are made to protect your identity." A few pictures were shown as the game loaded a bar in the corner. "You can change your hair and eye color, but height and genders will be kept for your comfort!" More options and pictures. "Certain stats can be given by the styles you choose or armor you equip, but these effects only work in combat or when talking to NPCs. Certain effects give boosts to your other stats, like strength, that can affect you at all times..."

It took maybe a full minute of basics before anything new appeared. A new, basic menu popped up and there was a character that looked similar to him, but had long fuchsia hair and rainbow eyes. Plus he was wearing something like a muscle shirt and tight shorts, both grey. It was sick seeing himself with hair and clothes like that. On the menu were items to put onto the character. Only, how was he going to drag anything? He had no hands.

Zeke must have spent three whole minutes concentrating before anything happened. It was when he tried to reach out to the menu when the character in front of him moved. His arm moved out to the side, like he was trying, only to the opposite side. Like a mirror. When he tried to reach out to the right, opposite of the menu, his body nearly touched a Lilac Robe Bottom. He was not, repeat, not going to wear a skirt in front of thousands of people. In stead, he reached up and touched a tab called Swordsman, pulling away the list of dresses and walking sticks. Now there were tunics and swords and shields. None of the things on the list were very nice or fancy. That was expected. No one would want someone else starting off with a sword that was boss level or anything that even appeared so.

After five minutes of adjusting things, Zeke was finally satisfied with his look, even if he couldn't fix how his lips should have been. The best touch was changing his hair thickness to the 'Full' and the style to 'Wavey Spiked'. They adjusted to the goggles he'd found and they fit perfectly. He adjusted his ears points to be slightly tapered, but it wasn't extreme elf looking.

Several minutes later, when a bell chimed from off in the distance, Zeke's vision switched and now he was behind his now perfect swordsman avatar. At least, that's what he though about it. Now it was showing him with his speed up and his attack wasn't overly high. Still, he had opted to forgo a shield and to have an offensive defence. He would attack to defend. Meaning his armor suffered badly. His attack was twenty two while his defence was ten, his speed was thirty five. The other stats, like Charisma, didn't really concern him too much. His 'Battered Heirloom Blade' hung on his back comfortably as his backpack had earlier, and a bit lighter. He reached down and pressed the small dark grey button of 'Accept'.

This time Zeke was ready. As his vision went dark, he simply relaxed. He only waited for a few seconds before a user name box popped up. He thought for a second and a keyboard appeared in front of him, along with a copy his avatar. He could feel the cool metal under his virtual fingers when he touched the keys. This kind of board would cost, maybe, sixty or so Euros. Here, it cost only data. He decided simply on the user name 'Alpha_Sword' but it was already taken. So he tried 'Zeke_123' But that one was taken too. So, finally, he used his last good name. He typed quickly the name 'MetalDragon'. Only, in his haste, he typed 'MetalDargon'. But it wasn't taken and it passed. Zeke hadn't even looked when he pressed enter. The keyboard disappeared into a million pixels and he was stuck with a miss typed name. The boxes faded and Zeke saw what he'd typed in an explosion of fireworks before everything but him faded again. But at least he wasn't one of those people who just happened to have every common name as everybody else.

* * *

The next time, the world appeared and Zeke was not surprised at all that he had paid one eighty for the game alone. The hardware was a different story. His goggles now weighed down on his forehead and his Brownish red tunic rippled in the light wind. The cobblestone beneath his feet was so real he could hardly tell he was even in a game. The texture of his leather sheath's leather strap was real. Even his leather boots, like pirates, were more comfortable than they looked. But he definitely wasn't the only one in the square. Other people were appearing in a whirlwind of pixels, each one landing perfectly. Well, not that guy over there. He looks like he's got some genetical defect or maybe some kind of fungus. There was always that one guy like that.

Zeke's light and mildly curvy mocha hair blew in the wind created by everyone's whirlwinds and he decided to start off on his journey. He still remembered some things from the manuals he'd read.  
"Kill monsters, Get EXP, Buy stuff, Kill more stuff".  
At least, that's what he thought it said. Same thing, right?

The moment he stepped, though, he knew. He'd just messed up. A pretty girl with dark wavy brown hair appeared in front of him as he took a step. Trying to be cool, he tripped and fell...

* * *

**Okay, guys. He's in and now he's ready... If only he hadn't fallen he could have made a good move on that girl. Oh well. But stay tuned for the next chapter. I will get it's edited and ready to show. Anyways. LowePlays, signing out.**


	2. Getting down to Business

**Here's the next chapter rewritten. It didn't take too long, but I do hope you like the improved version. I have had a few changes due to several weeks without posting, so I wanted to give it a fresh rebirth. It should be a lot better now. So, why not share it with your friends? **

**Enjoy and leave a review, saying if I need some improvement. Now read on!**

**(*EDITED*)**

* * *

The moment he stepped, though, he knew. He'd just messed up. A pretty girl with dark wavy brown hair appeared in front of him as he took a step. Trying to be cool, he tripped and fell...

He hit his forehead on her shoulder, even when she was almost a foot shorter than her. She cried out in pain as Zeke landed on his face, the uneven stones pressing painfully into his cheek. The raw feeling of his cheek was as real as the outside. He also tasted blood, but the iron taste was slightly different than he was used to.

"Who do you think you are," the girl yelled at him. "No spawn killing!" Zeke picked himself up and he saw her face. She was kinda pretty. No, really pretty. Her eyes were a crisp green color and her skin was lightly tanned, like she'd been sunbathing recently. It wasn't too dark, but maybe a bit too light. It made it even more realistic.

"I-I'm sorry," he said, slightly distracted by her looks. "It's just that you spawned right in my way- I mean, you spawned right in front of me. It was an accident." She wore a skeptical look and gazed intently into his eyes. It was a cold and analytical stare, like she was peering into his soul.

"Fine. You don't look like your lying. And I know when someone lies to me. But if you ever cross me or injure me again, I'll shoot you with my new Bow." She emphasized the last part by pointing at her quiver. He face, though angry, was like an Angel. An Angel of Death.

"I just-", Zeke started, but she was already weaving her way though the maze of people, who were standing around in awe at the amazing new world before them. And Zeke just stood there, not knowing what to do next. He'd already made a fool of himself. He started to go through his head about what to do first. There was so much that he could be doing. He rubbed his cheek, which was still healing.

It was a minute later when someone tried to spawn on top of him when he moved again. He step sided as a young man dropped down next to him in a flash of black, brown, and red, falling the six feet to the ground. The young man landed in a heap, his large weapon messing up his sitting angle and forced him into a low bow.

"Ow! What the heck? Why'd I spawn way up there?" Zeke recognized the guy's voice almost immediately. He'd been stuck behind him for two days. "Hey! Why'd you throw me? I just spawned, you brute," the red haired man asked. He rubbed his leg and head while leaning forward. It was almost funny enough to laugh at.

"C'mon! Why doesn't anyone realize the place is crowded and it was an accident? I was just standing here and you spawn on me. So it's your fault you landed on the ground." First it was that girl, now this guy? Who else? Zeke already had enough problems to deal with and this guy was just another. He needed to ditch the guy fast if he wanted to do anything.

"Wait... Your voice... It might be slightly deeper but I think..." _Crap. He recognizes me_, Zeke thought. "You're Jonathan!"

"What," Zeke burst out. "How could you think I was this Jonathan?" For all he knew, Jonathan could have been that guy with the fungus on his face. How could anyone even consider him to be someone so ridiculous. If someone wanted to know, they could look at their tag. He remembered that from the manual. But how to access it, Zeke had no idea.

"So, you're not Jonathan? I thought you would be because he's always playing these kind of pranks on me." He looked around at the crowd. "Well, I can't recognize Jon or Al in all these people. Wait, you been here a while, right? Mind if I tag along and you can show me around?" Zeke could tell he was a newbie at these kind of stat games. His sword was oversized and his hard leather armor were less for offense but defense. He had chosen solely from the choices for only style. It was useless since his speed would suffer.

"Fine. As long as you don't get in my way. I really just want to play this game today."

"Hey, I was a clan leader in my last MMORPG, so I'm no noob when it comes to these kind of games." _Yeah, right._

"But you've never played Alpha Blades Online, so you are a noob at _this_ game," Zeke explained. "And why are you even trying to convince me?"

"Whatever. There are always those kinds of people. Have you got any good weapons yet? Mine sucks."

"Just noticed that, huh? I've been in this game as long as you, and if I did, I wouldn't give any weapons to you." _Leech, _Zeke angrily thought. "If you want any, keep yours and grind for a drop or buy one. That's what I'm going to do. Plus drops sometimes have cool perks." It was a lie, yes, but maybe that would keep him distracted with that. Help him fight harder.

"Okay, then. Let's go fight us some monsters!" And the young man started marching through the crowds, Zeke behind him, muttering things under his breath. At least his red hair was easier to follow than brown.

They wound around through the street of the spawning town. Zeke saw the short girl with brown hair as they passed. There were several shop keepers but he suspected them all to be NPCs. After, maybe, twenty minutes of wandering, they made it to the wilderness. They both could tell because a message appeared it the air, declaring that 'MetalDargon' and 'Rush_452' were now susceptible to PKing, and that this was the only warning they would receive, and only alert.

"Well, now everyone knows we're outside of safety," Rush_452 said. "Let's go kill stuff, then. I really want that cool sword you were talking about." And, even if Zeke was hesitant, went out with the red haired. The wild was now open to them to do as they please. Hopefully Rush didn't find out about his lie.

* * *

They wandered around, avoiding any player they saw, which totaled one. After a time they thought they wouldn't find anything. It was a creepy and deserted plain, only a few trees in sight. There were a few boulders, but they didn't really do anything. The rippling waves of grass and the leaves were the only real distractions. But, just as they started to walk towards a tree, arguing, they encountered their first monster.

"But you're wearing goggles," Rush complained. He wanted some of Zeke's armor.

"But this is my, uh, hairstyle. I can't just give it to you. Besides, they're not yours. So back off, will you-" A squelch noise behind them distracted them. It was a sickly gurgling, then slurp, ending with a squish of something gross. Both spun on their heels and a Slime jumped on Rush.

"Ahh! Metal dude! Get it off me! Ugh, it stinks!" Rush struggled against the green mass of gel. Zeke sighed and drew his tarnished, dull blade and slashed at the gel. A red slash appeared on it's... body? What ever it was, it was cut and screeching from an unseen mouth. It reared back and turned on him, freeing Rush. The mass moved off of him and uncovered his body.

"Ugh, that's gross." Rush was wiping green slime from his armor as Zeke held back the gel with his skinny sword. It was hardly effective, but it did hold back some mass. It slowly gushed around the blade and enveloped it. He struggled to pull himself free, but the gel had a tight grip on him.

"Little-little help, please," he said, now starting to be covered by the slime, while attacking tips popped up. Zeke brushed them away as he battled the pile of gel. His health bar, mana bar, skill slots, enemy's health bar, teams, etc. He ignored all of them while they popped up every half a second. They didn't matter as much as his virtual life. So what if would respawn. Respawning would reset him so far back. Like, an entire day's worth of gameplay. He would not let someone else, especially himself, die to something he could easily defeat.

Meanwhile, Rush was wiping the slime from his sword handle before he drew it, flicking the stuff everywhere. Finally, he deemed in clean enough to hold and pulled from the sheath a large impre sword blade. It had little shine in the bright sun but it was a starter weapon. It was of poor make and it was obviously crafted by a beginner blacksmith.

"Now it's my turn!" Rush started off by raising his blade and ran. Zeke was almost entirely covered swallowed by the gel, now starting to take damage. Rush jumped a foot in the air and slammed his large blade into the slime. A bright and large gash of red appeared beneath the falling blade.

The blade cut through the slime alright, even if his attempt at an epic move sucked. But he'd put all his strength into his swing. The blade kept going after passing through the slime and cut into Zeke's abdomen, damaging him even more.

Zeke didn't feel the pain he should have felt if a blade entered his stomach. It was more of a prick on his skin, but he saw his own health drop to about two-thirds. It was a heavy strike from such an inexperienced wielder.

"Why the hell'd you hit me!?" Zeke now had a red gash on his stomach. It was already sealing slowly, but it was a deep cut. Zeke pointed to it to prove his point.

"I didn't expect it to hurt you." Rush held up his arms in innocence. "We are part of the same team, so I assumed it would be harmless to you."

"We haven't done anything like that. Let's just kill the slime. And back up from me. I'll get it." Zeke walked up to the cowering gel. It squealed when he approached and tried to run, but Zeke had already swung his blade. The slash that appeared on the gel didn't last long. The health bar above the gel dropped to nothing. The Slime reared up somehow and squelched loudly and exploded into a million green pixels...

* * *

**Thanks guys for sticking around with me until the end of the chapter. Zeke's met a team member... maybe? More like a leech. Now Zeke's killed... a weak slime. So, now he's getting OP by being the first to make it to the wilderness. Next we'll see what he gets from killing that weak gel pile. **

**Well, LowePlays, signing out.**


	3. The Chase

**Yo. Here with the next chapter. This was one of the more harder to accept. I edited this for almost an hour. I still have school so I can't always post and I might not be able to get a neew chapter up every two or three days like I want to because, you know, home work, study, and actual classes. But here's the next chapter of Blades of Alliance. **

**Enjoy and remember to add a comment if you want to suggest or improve anything.**

**(*EDITED*)**

* * *

The health bar above the gel dropped to nothing. The Slime reared up somehow and squelched loudly and exploded into a million green pixels...

_Congratulations, MetalDargon!_

_EXP: 97_

_Gil: 67_

"We... We did it. We did it! Yahoo!" Rush was jumping around like a crazy person, his sword weighing him down a bit. His own battle winnings message was following him around. It displayed about the same information that Zeke's did and there was no other information. He closed his before turning to his partner.

"Calm down, will you," Zeke shouted, grabbing Rush's shoulders to keep him earth bound. "You'll attract other players from twenty kilometers away. Then we'll lose this, uh, Gil and EXP. You don't want to die, do you?" He shook his head. "That's what I thought." Zeke sighed and sheathed his sword. The fight could have gone a lot worse than he it actually was, like how he thought would happen. His health was still yellow and at about at half from that Slime, Rush's stupidity, and his own bleeding.

"C'mon," he said. "Let's go back to the town. I need to get some potions and it's..." Zeke checked on the small green counter in the corner. "I got to go soon. It's already 17:56 and I have to eat dinner."

"But I don't feel hungry. I feel like I can kick ass," Rush boasted. He swung the heavy blade around as if it was nothing, but his body was heavily displaced as he caught it with a single hand.

"I'm talking about IRL. And it's probably a game mechanic to protect the player. You'll feel hungry soon. Or maybe just that your avatar doesn't feel hungry? But I want to go get something to heal me before I log out." Zeke walked off as Rush sheathed his buster blade and followed. Rush was still smiling and occasionally laughed like an idiot.

The journey back was much the same as the journey to. Rush constantly asked questions about his view on the battle, asked about his stats, asked if he got anything, if he leveled up, etc. It was kinda annoying and Zeke almost snapped at Rush, who looked three years older, yet acted three years younger.

_Just until the town, _Zeke's mind said. _Just to the town and you'll ditch him. You'll log out and eat some dinner and forget about him. _His thoughts were what allowed him to get to the Town of Spawn. Well, to the border.

As the two neared the border between the Wild and the Town, a gang of players came up on them. They all looked friendly, as they still had their starter armor as well, until they drew their weapons. It started when Rush waved at them. The second they had spotted the small hunting group of Zeke and Rush, they started pulling on their weapons and were bursting into a run towards them.

"Idiot! Run! We have to make it to the Safe Zone!" Zeke was pulling on Rush's sleeve until he was running behind him. As they ran, more stupid tutorial windows opened and Zeke swatted them away. He didn't need to know how to run. The distance was covered quickly, but Zeke felt like it wasn't enough.

Taking a risk, Zeke slowed to look beside them. Half of the players had gained some ground and they were running to meet ahead of them. And they were going to, Zeke could tell. They just were faster. He didn't know how, but they were.

_Gotta go faster!_ He was pouring every ounce of speed from his avatar as he could. He didn't know what the enemies would do once they had caught up, but Zeke didn't want to stay to find out. He couldn't really feel the strain on his muscles as he usually would, but he could tell he could run no faster. But Rush's footsteps started to falter and then there was a thud. And Zeke knew what that meant.

Turning on the dime, he pivoted and saw Rush trying to pick himself up. His armor made him a bit clumsy and his large sword was hampering his running ability if he didn't bend 45 degrees at the waist. Zeke reached his hand out and took his fellow player's hand and dragged him upright.

"We can still make it! C'mon," Zeke called behind him as he started running again, this time drawing his blade. For protection. The group of players were coming closer at an alarming rate. He would not be defeated, not by a group of noobish player- wait, he was one too. The line glowed as they neared and they were closing the gap quickly. Sound from his left made him glance sideways.

Beside him was one of the players chasing them. He was barely able to raise his blade to protect himself. A clang rang out and Zeke realised they were surrounded. He spun again to confront them. He didn't want to die, and this was they only way they would make it. But he was already committed to his movement. He practically dove into the loosely packed mob of players, hacking and slashing on either side. His guard was fast and was able to protect him from the worst.

He didn't make it to the other side of the of the mob unscathed, but the fact that he still made it was a miracle. What saved him was the fact that these PKing noobs had never been in battle before. Each time they were hit, they fell back in pain, but Zeke knew it didn't hurt as much as it looked.

Rush, on the other hand, only survived because of Zeke's recklessness. He'd seen where the goggle-bearing swordsman was headed and sidestepped out of the way of the mob of, he'd guess, twelve or thirteen players? He couldn't tell, but it was around that. He drew his sword just in time to block someone else's sword.

They noticed him sneaking/running around their group and started to get back up and chase after him. He was an old Kendo student and this was no Bokken. This was a real, but dull sword in his hands. All the same, he pulled up the blade and blocked. He spun around to have his back to the border and ran backwards, his opponent still pushing on him, thinking he was stronger than the red-haired. He would be sorely surprised by the tricks he had up his sleeve. Rush pulled up his blade with both hands and suddenly stopping. The enemy was going fast enough to hit his head on the blade's edge. It inflicted major damage, leaving the kid with less than a fourth of his original health.

Rush thought he was going to make it, but half-way, another noticed him and slashed his back. His health dropped by a fifth. Giving up his good sportsmanship, he got in close to the second attacker and elbowed him in the face before bursting into another run. Zeke was about ten feet in front of him and a message appeared pointing at the orange sphere above him.

It said something about him being a PKer but Rush wasn't able to finish reading because a second message, saying Zeke was now in the safe zone. That message was quickly replaced with his own, then a dozen others, all saying they were in a safe zone.

He slowed down, mainly because Zeke had stopped.

"We're safe," he shouted into the crowd, who stopped, tripping over their fellow attackers.

"But who's gonna protect you? God?" One of them had stepped forward. His dirty blonde hair was windblown and his battle axe was at the ready. "I don't think you'll last longer than five seconds against me." His gear said that he was a Beserker Class Warrior, a Mace, Hammer, or Axe wielding powerhouse. That was part of Zeke's past gaming life, but it was the same for most games anyways.

"No one but me. There's no one else I'd depend on. Maybe you should be the same," Zeke retorted, raising his sword, but to the side. He wanted the blonde guy, whom he assumed was leader to attack him. He wanted to see what would happen. "I assume your avatar is to cover up Real World ugliness, but, not really sad to say, it shows through." He received a few laughs from the crew the Brute had gathered.

"You got a lot of nerve, you little punk," he growled. "You insult me again-"

"You stink, even here! My God!" Rush tried to hide his laughter with a cough.

"That's it! You're dead!" The brute swung his battle axe at Zeke's head and his goggles didn't look like they'd survive the attack. Time seemed to slow down for Zeke. He could see the blade coming closer and he tried to duck out of the way, but the sharp edge of it grazed his arm. Zeke saw as one of his arm hairs bent, then broke.

_Poof!_

The words appeared as the blonde leader vanished in an explosion of purple squares and triangles.

And another message appeared. It was the same for everybody.

_No Player vs. Player duels are allowed inside the city limits unless duel protocols are preformed._

_Violator player __Argorgan_27 __Moved to 24 hour cell._

_Good day,_

_~Taiaki Adament_

_So that's what happens, _Zeke thought. Then he decided to do something to humiliate his would-be attackers even further.

"Anyone else gonna take me? I've got time." The moment he said this, most of them scrammed, but one stayed. It was a girl and she looked murderous. Even her pink hair was scary. A red aura emanated from her, causing her hair and clothes to flick around as though an ominous wind was blowing. Her crimson blade hung at her side.

"Oh, so a girly wants to go," Zeke taunted. "Okay. Let's see what you got." At these words, a scarlet flashed over her eyes. She drew and raised the one-handed sword and pointed it at him. And then she spoke.

"I will not fight you, but you will pay for this. I will take my revenge for killing my boyfriend. AND I WILL TAKE YOUR LIFE IN RETURN FOR HIS!"

* * *

**Jeez. She's really into this game. When they say full dive, that doesn't mean it's real life. Anyways. Zeke killed stuff, looked cool and got a PKer sent to the Slammer. Taiaki Adament is the Developer, as you probably can tell. Anyways. **

**I have finished editing the third chapter for Blades of Alliance, so I hope it's better than before. It did take me some few minutes, so it wasn't my best. I still did put some real effort into this. So, maybe you'll share it with your friends?**

**But, until next time. LowePlays, signing out.**


	4. The Game Begins

**It's here. I got the fourth chapter. Just don't tell anyone I'm posting this during class. This chapter is when it all starts. The real game. Taiaki Adament will make his move. I won't spoil anything, so enjoy. Remember, your comments help improve my writing. If you want, drawing Zeke could help.**

* * *

And then she spoke.

"I will not fight you, but you will pay for this. I will take my revenge for killing my boyfriend. AND I WILL TAKE YOUR LIFE IN RETURN FOR HIS!"

"You know, you don't have to yell. The message just says he's been arrested for violating the rules. Calm down."

"You don't know what you've done. He'll die in there, I know it! He swore he would never get caught again. It could kill him!" The woman was hyperventilating and her aura seemed to give of heat. The air around her was shimmering like in a desert.

"So what? He can get a new avatar. He just won't look the same." Rush thought Zeke's reasoning was sound, but maybe this strange woman couldn't tell the difference between this and the game.

"No! He was perfect the was he was! Now bring him back or I promise to kill you." Her blade's metal was starting to move in the shimmer of heat, maybe melting.

"Well, I don't know how to get him back but I have to go. See you later." Zeke sheathed his sword and turned around. Rush looked back at the pink-haired woman turn and run down an alleyway. He turned back to follow Zeke, who was already a ways away.

"You know," Rush started, once he was close enough. "That was kind of mean, teasing them like that." He shivered at the image of the scary lady.

"It was my fight," Zeke answered. "Plus, they attacked us first. And it was fun."

"Fun? You could have gotten your head cleaved off. I mean, did you even consider what would have happened if he hadn't gotten arrested?"

"Yeah, in fact I did," he answered, a knowing look in his eye. "Have you ever played any Tactic games? If you break rules, you're out. And in a safe zone, nobody should be able to hurt you. Simple as that." He smirked at Rush's confused look.

"O-okay. Uh, I'm just gonna go look at some swords and I guess I'll, um, see you tomorrow, maybe? Yeah, so, um, see you?" Rush's inability to speak made Zeke's smirk grow. He was finally getting rid of him.

"Yeah," Zeke said nodding. "Have fun. I'll see you around." He saw Rush walk towards a blacksmiths hut before he turned to search for a shop with some food or potions. He couldn't remember which restored his health, but he assumed food was the logical option.

It was starting to get dark in the game, as Zeke searched for an Inn or restaurant, when he found one. He'd passed it twice and wandered for half an hour.

The sign that held the Inn's name swung on one of it's rusted chain, the other one dangling uselessly. It stated simply 'Inn'. Zeke walked though the old wooden door of the, although poor, three story building.

The grimy stone walls had beer stains on it and the floor had bits of broken wood and food was not uncommon. The spiral stairs he saw in the back were in a bad shape, with a few of the steps broken. Zeke made his way through the mess and sat down at the poorly maintained bar table.

"Can I help you," asked the middle-aged man running the place as Zeke sat down. "Beer and alcohol is permitted to players only over seventeen, so don't try," he added.

"I'd like something to get my health up and a room, thanks." The man's grey streaked hair disappeared behind the counter as he retrieved something. When he came back up, he handed Zeke a key.

"That'll be 50 Gil a night and the food is 30. I'll need 80 Gil from you." He dragged his hand over the rugged counter and a glowing screen appeared.

_Current Balance: 267 Gil_

_ Room: 50 Gil/Night_

_ Food: 30 Gil_

_ Total: 187 Gil_

_ Do you accept?_

There was a box and Zeke pressed his finger to it. Another holo-screen appeared and Zeke saw his Gil drop by eighty points before it blinked out. His key disappeared and a message appeared where it used to be.

_Key for Room 7 added to Inventory_

He had an inventory? How would he get into his room now? Where was his inventory?

"If you need help, just open your menu," the Bartender said, bringing Zeke his food. It was mashed yellow potatoes and a bit of purple meat. "Eat up." Then he went ridged as a statue. NPCs...

Zeke picked the cleanest fork he could find in the jar on the scratched counter. Half the forks didn't even have tongs on them. His had one missing. He grasped the bent handle and stuck the fork into the mashed potatoes and pulled up a solider mass than he expected. Hesitantly, he leaned forward and took a bite.

Truthfully, it didn't taste bad, but the texture was all wrong. It was like eating chocolate, how it sticks to the inside of your mouth and it felt like it was rocky. After chewing for a while, he deemed it fit to go down the hatch.

Suddenly, his health bar shot up a bit. So food did help. Not wanting more of the potatoes, he stuck his for into the purple meat. It wasn't much. Maybe two mouthfuls. Zeke lifted the bit to his mouth and ripped off a chunk. It was okay, better than the potatoes. It was undercooked for his taste and could do with some barbecue sauce, but it was okay.

After eating his fill, Zeke got up from the counter and the NPC came back to life. He took the plate and put it somewhere underneath the counter. As he walked towards the exit, another person entered. He heard the NPC greet the player as he opened the door and departed.

He realized the air outside smelled a lot better than inside the bar when fading sunlight hit his eyes. Zeke checked the counter in the corner and swore. He was supposed to be eating his real dinner, not a bunch of ones and zeros food. He saw a few players still walking around the town and Zeke ran up to one of them.

"Excuse me, sir. Do you happen to know how to, um, open the menu?" He hated asking for help. He didn't like being dependent on someone else, but there was a time and place for everything.

"Um, yeah? You just swipe your hand, like this." The older man pinched the air and pulled down. A ring sounded and a menu appeared from where the man had pinched.

"Thanks, sir," He said, bowing to the man. Why was he always so tense around people? The man looked at him funnily as he made his way back into the Inn. He climbed up the stairs as the NPC bartender greeted him, the other player eating some food similar to his.

"Can I help you?" He must have one line of dialog only, it seemed.

"Nope, just going up to me room." He carefully placed his feet and he walked up the steps; a few of them weren't very stable.

When he made it up to the second floor, still alive, he saw a similar view as below. The stone walls were dirty, the doors were old with paint peeling and the iron numbers on them a bit rusty. The only big difference was that the floor was cleaner and even had a few new boards in it.

Zeke walked down the hallway, he saw only doors on the left side, the right side was only a wall. At the end of the hall there was another set of stairs and a door with a seven on it.

With his new knowledge, Zeke opened his menu with a ring and he saw the options.

_Attributes_

_ Skills_

_ Character_

_ Groups/Clans_

_ Options_

Zeke pressed on attributes. It showed his stats like it did before only with a back arrow, which he pressed. His attempt at skills was with, also, no luck. It did show him that he had a bunch of skill branches he could start, though. He pressed the arrow again. His attempt with Character had more luck.

_ Third time's the charm, _thought Zeke as a few sub menus appeared, along with a diagram of his equipment.

_Inventory_

_ Skills_

_ Options_

Zeke didn't press any other button but Inventory. He would look at the others later, but right now he was late for dinner. He only had three things in his inventory at the current. One was a Newbie Chest, the second was a teleport scroll, the last was his key. He tapped on it and another small menu appeared. He pressed on 'Place in World' and a sparkle flew out of his menu. It swirled around him and landed on his right hand. It was comical that his hand was palm faced down, poised at the menu, so the key rested on the back of his hand.

He chuckled and closed his menu with his other hand, repeatedly pressing the back arrow. With both hands free, Zeke picked up the key with his other hand and stuck it into the keyhole. It turned on it's own and the door swung open, admitting him into the room.

It wasn't very large. There was a thin bed on a wooden frame, the head cracked. There was a nightstand with a lamp on it and a desk. Not much else. It was cleaner than the rest of the Inn, but that wasn't much.

Zeke closed the door behind him and lay down on the bed. Once he was was on his back he stood back up. He opened his menu and navigated to the character screen and tapped on his equipped sword. It was uncomfortable to lay on it, so he moved it to his inventory. His sword was engulfed by the sparkling comet and it flew into his menu, vanishing.

Closing his menu, he rested back again on the bed and opened his menu again, remembering how to log out. He opened options and his small smile vanished.

The logout button was missing...

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**Well, that was the fourth chapter. Feel free to like and subscribe. Leave a comment, telling me what I should do or what I could improve. I welcome all criticism, so feel free. The next chapter will be coming up soon. LowePlays, signing out.**


	5. Zeke gets Personal

**Hey guys. I'm back from the long weekend. I didn't have much time to add onto the fifth chapter and I'm going all off of my mind, no more editing. So that means I won't be able to post as fast as I did. Maybe every one or two days? Just don't quote me on that. Anyways, enjoy and leave comments.**

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Closing his menu, he rested back again on the bed and opened his menu again, remembering how to log out. He opened options and his small smile vanished.

The logout button was missing...

Though he'd just lain down, he jumped right back up again. Why would the log out button be missing? Was it just a bug? Was it a glitch? Was he the only one? Without the logout button, how would he get out? He couldn't move his IRL body to remove his helmet. His family could possibly do it for him, but they also knew him to never miss dinner. If he was hungry, he came down. They would know something was wrong.

Thoughts of being stuck in this game forever came to his mind and, though he would never admit it, some of them didn't seem that bad. But, if he couldn't leave, he'd rather be doing something other than staying in a room.

Opening his inventory, he reequipped his sword and the sword flew from his menu onto his back. Zeke stood up and his menu followed him. He pressed the buttons and closed the menu and closed his eyes.

_To be playing a game forever._

Zeke had read, before entering, that the game was huge. It could take months- maybe years to complete a game like this. There were floors in this dungeon, though none were visible to anyone on the first level, he'd seen. It might not be that bad.

He started to run his hands through his hair, but his leather goggles blocked his fingers. His fingers wrapped around his goggles and attempted to pull them off, but they wouldn't remove themselves from his hair. Finally, giving up, he settled for just going over and sat. His fingers brought a calmness over him when the brushed his hair aside. It was just one of his weaknesses.

"Just what's going on. Think, Zeke. There's no escape from this game. The logout button's gone, but you might not be the only one. It is the first day with the servers online, after all." He continued to run his fingers through his spiky hair. Why was he freaking out?

But something wasn't right. There were alpha testers, beta testers and the game was cleared through inspection. It wasn't supposed to have bugs. Did he mess up his download? Was he running corrupt data?

Then, an idea came. If his download corrupted, maybe the logout button's icons were missing, just appearing to not be there. He called his menu and pressed options. The button was still missing. Zeke lowered his finger and pressed the blank slot...

Nothing happened. He opened his eyes and still saw the crummy room he'd rented. His joy faded for the second time. He wasn't going back. Not for a while. He was stuck here. Forever fighting monsters until someone takes off the helmet that connected him to this world.

He was done with just stroking his hair and freaking out about nothing. He wanted to do _something._ Setting his mind, Zeke stood and walked through the room and walked into the hall. Still the same. Down the steps, still watching his feet.

"Did you rest well," asked the bar man. Stupid NPC... The night had aged in his absence. Stars were peeking out in the night sky and it was slightly chilly. Perfect for what he was doing. Breaking into a run, he sped through town. It was calm and peaceful. Not many players were out now.

_Probably all logged out by now, _Zeke said in his mind.

The town passed by quickly and he was out of the borders by 18:47. His family probably were wondering why he hadn't come down stairs. He knew his RL body was hungry; the last thing he ate was saltines and protein bars. Why couldn't he leave?

A squeal distracted him. He turned and saw a Porker pawing the ground and lowering it's head. It's blue skin and fur was kind of weird to see on a pig but it still had it. Zeke reached up and carefully removed the blade on his back. The twine-wrapped handle felt more real than he thought and he could feel the weight of it. Though it felt somewhat heavy, he still knew it wasn't real.

At the sight of his blade, the pig squealed and charged straight at him. Bad move. Zeke brought the sword down on the beast's back, nearly cleaving it in half. It's health dropped to about half and it was still bleeding. Zeke wrenched his sword out of the pig and it retreated. That's just insulting, your prey running from the fight.

The next blow, cutting the head from the body, dropped the health to zero. The battle's gains appeared in front of him.

_Congratulations, MetalDargon!_

_EXP: 82_

_Gil: 46_

_Item: Porker Leather_

_Level UP!_

A blue glow swallowed him and lasted for a second or two. With that, he was almost the strongest player. Zeke pinched the air and pulled out the menu, though crooked, and opened the attributes page. A little plus icon was by every stat.

"Sweet." Zeke placed his awarded five points in health, Str, and Agi. He wanted to get some stronger weapons and be the strongest. If you can't do anything else, why not enjoy what time you have left. That was his logic.

After searching for another ten minutes, he found a herd of Porkers and most were sleeping. Easy prey. Zeke snuck up on the sleeping beasts, which wasn't hard; all were sawing logs or, at least, making loud noises. He raised his blade and brought it down on the first pig. It died instantly as it's head was lopped off. He repeated this process four more times, in which he earned 338 EXP and 273 Gil, which allowed him the level up again.

On the fifth swing, the blade struck but the beast was not killed. The health bar popped up and showed it was a level two. It's shrieks and squeals woke the other half dozen Porkers. All fled but the one stuck on his blade.

"You little," Zeke said, before kicking the beast in the ribs. "Stupid, ugly, fat little Porker!" He emphasized each word with a savage kick to it's ribs. After the sixth or seventh kick, the Porker died in a squeal.

_Congratulations, MetalDargon!_

_EXP: 107_

_Gil: 69_

_Item: Porker Leather Arm Guard_

Zeke looked up. None of the Porkers remained for him to kill. Cowards. At least they were lucky. So was he, getting five kills out of a dozen. If he came back here, he would kill them all, they were all such cowards. They could have died for a good cause. But, there's no use in crying over dropped ice cream or spilled milk.

The sheathe on his back gladly accepted the blade he shoved into it. He walked, though in which direction, he didn't know. It must have been an hour before anything happened. It was a bit lonely, walking alone at night. The dark was only broken by the stars and a sliver of moon light. Out of nowhere, an explosion eight or so meters from him.

"What the-" he started. A large beast with albino skin and scales pulled itself out of the hole it had dug. All six of it's legs were working at extracting it's self from it's tunnel. It was about as big as a car. It thrashed around blindly, it's eyes non-existent. The black claws attached to each of it's thrashing paws were at least a good ten centimeters, throwing dirt clods everywhere. Then the health bar appeared...

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**Thank you for reading chapter five of Blades of Alliance. Next chapter is when the Alliance part comes in for real. There was Rush and he'll be back later, but I didn't want to include him this early. So don't worry. Next chapter will come out soon so stay tuned. LowePlays, signing out.**


	6. Blades of Alliance

**Okay guys! This is the sixth chapter and now it's time for the group to get together. Now that they are together, nothing can stop them! Until the real death game starts. Now, read on and Enjoy!**

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It thrashed around blindly, it's eyes non-existent. The black claws attached to each of it's thrashing paws were at least a good ten centimeters, throwing dirt clods everywhere. Then the health bar appeared...

The beast was a level five! He, the puny level three, couldn't possibly kill this beast. At least, not with his luck. He'd never been the luckiest clover in the basket. All the same, he would not back down. It wasn't his nature to let anything, _anything,_ beat him without a fight. He was not a coward.

Reaching over his shoulder, Zeke drew his sword. He would not back down to something like this. He wouldn't lose to a blind monster!

"C'mon! You won't scare me! You can do better than that," he yelled at it. Then, something strange happened. A streak of red and brown came out of nowhere and a large gash appeared on the beast's side. Then, a girl was standing by him.

"So, now I've saved your life. Now you owe me two favors." It was the girl from the square. Her health bar showed, but no stats were displayed. The hair that waved slowly in the breeze had a new red streak in it. Her hunter's dagger was out and Zeke correctly assumed that is what caused the damage.

"Uh..." His voice sounded so dumb. Why was it so hard to talk to her? Sure, she's pretty, but he had a girl in Real Life he was hitting on. He pinched himself. "So, why are you still in the game?"

"I could ask you the same thing. Why are you still logged in?" Cheeky. That just made her a whole lot cuter.

"I, uh, can't log out."

"So your logout button is missing-" She was interrupted by a shriek and Zeke remembered the beast they were fighting. It was furiously digging into the ground and, after a few seconds, it vanished down into it's hole.

"So, I guess we should kill this thing before continuing of talk," Zeke said, carefully watching the girl's back. Behind him, she nodded.

There was a rumble, and a hole opened up and the beast flew at them. Zeke almost didn't react fast enough. Then there was the girl. She was unbelievably fast. She'd drawn her bow and shot the beast in the shoulder. Then Zeke finished up with a slash to it's underside. The beast landed a few meters away and started burrowing again. It's health was down by a fifth and it was only the first strike.

Then, Zeke became a little too confident in himself and the girl beside him. He became a little less cautious and paid for it. They were back to back when the beast came up again. It was less than two meters from them and it's sharp claws raked Zeke's chest. He grunted in pain and fell. The girl had still managed to snipe the beast before it went underground again. And Zeke was, already, half dead.

"Get up. It's coming back. Get up!" He heard her shouting and the rumble was there, but he was bleeding out. There was a rumble and a shriek. Then, the girl screamed.

"No," he croaked, strength coming back to him. He stabbed his blade into the ground to help him up, only to fall into a hole. It was a tunnel the beast had made, it's flesh directly in front of him. This could not be luckier, as it was tunneling away from him, it's backside to him. Zeke gripped his sword in both hands and slashed, with all his strength. The blade passed into the side of the Burrowing Beast and was buried in it's scaled back.

The beast shrieked again, now louder than before, the sound reverberating off the tunnel walls. It turned upwards and the tunnel was emptied and Zeke was weaponless, his sword still in the beast's back. He was lying on his face from the beast's removal of his weapon. Struggling to his feet, he heard the girl yell again.

"Hold on," he called, running up the earthen slope. The beast had the girl clutched in it's jaws. She was cut up with bleeding gashed, but she was slashing up and down with her knife, it's health depleted.

But so was hers. It was approaching red faster than the beast was. If he didn't do something now, she wouldn't survive. And he'd already made his decision.

He broke out into a run and leapt onto the beast's back and grabbed his sword... But it was stuck. And the girl was now into red health. He wrenched the blade up with as powerful tug as he could. It moved. He pulled again. This time he held the blade. Then he made the heroic move and jumped, the blade positioned downwards. The blade sank into the beast's back and it gave a final shriek. The beast was finished.

The white skin and scales disappeared in an explosion of white pixels. They had won. They had beaten the stronger monster anyone else had. And now... Now that girl is in trouble.

Zeke closed the message that told him the EXP and Gil. The blue glow engulfed him and he leveled up. When the glow cleared, he saw the glow fade from the girl, meaning she leveled up too. Zeke ran over to her and her health was down to a sliver of red. Apparently it was too much for her because she'd fainted. He opened his menu and took out the teleport crystal he had. He grabbed her arm and touched the crystal and he teleported to the spawn square.

The stars were still out when Zeke put the girl onto his bed and he left her that way. It was crowded in his small Inn room, but it was the best he had. Sure, the hard floor was uncomfortable, but at least the girl was comfortable on his bed...

* * *

Zeke blearily opened his eyes as light streamed though the grimy screen. His back was a little stiff as he lifted his body into a sitting position and looked around. He saw the girl staring at him from across the room. Thinking he was in his room in IRL, his face went red. But she looked grateful for something. She also looked a bit curious about him.

"Why'd you save me? Most would have killed me for my items already." _That's right,_ Zeke thought, recognizing the room as his own, but his room in this game. And he'd brought the girl here.

"Well, I owed you a favor. I, uh, I used one of them by saving you," he lied. He couldn't meet her eyes and tried to look outside.

"Well, you might be lying, but I don't know what you would actually have done it for." _Right, she can tell if someone lies to her._

"If you want to know, I just thought we worked well together. I wanted to start a clan with you." She glanced up at him.

"You want to start a clan with a Beta Tester like me? Most people have been trying to kill me. I was one of the people blamed for this death match." She closed her eyes.

"I'm sure I want to team with you. Why would they be trying to kill one of the best players? And what do you mean by 'Death Match'?"

"You mean you don't know," she asked. Her blue eyes looked deeply into Zeke's own red eyes. "You don't. I'll tell you after I join your clan. What's it's name?"

"It hasn't been made yet. Do you have an idea for it's name?"

"How about..." She glanced around the room and at Zeke's armor. Then, smiling she said...

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**Thanks for reading chapter six of my series. The Alliance now has it's two main members and they are the most powerful clan. A Beta tester and a newbie. I'm going to ask around and get some ideas for the name. Comment a clan name if you want your clan name in here. Anyways, LowePlays, signing out.**


	7. Opening a Gift

**Here's the seventh chapter. This chapter matches up with the T rating, so just keep that in mind and know I warned you. There is some high humor, so you might want to look at some of the things on Google. There's not much action, but there will be plenty in the next one. If you have some suggestions, I'm not insulted by criticism. Read on and Enjoy!**

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"How about..." She glanced around the room and at Zeke's armor. Then, smiling she said...

"The Netherland Eyes!"

"Wait, what! That doesn't sound remotely cool! Fine, I'm choosing." Zeke thought for a while, also looking around the room, often resting too long on the girl's face. "I'm thinking something like 'Blades of Badsassness' or 'The Bad in Ass.'"

"And you called my idea stupid?" She crossed her arms over her stomach and slid down to the floor. "I'm willing to compromise 'Badassness' for Alliance. Is that better?"

"Well, it does have the badassy feel to it... Sure, what the hell. The guild shall be called 'Blades of Alliance!'" He said the last word with a formal accent and pulled out his menu. He pressed the groups button and one button had what he wanted. He pressed the button labeled 'Create Clan' and a box came up with a keyboard. Under it was a message.

_"First creation of Clan is free to any who want it but after a player has joined a clan or already started one, this privilege will be revoked. You won't see this message again." _

A female's voice came from nowhere and Zeke typed in the name 'Blades of Alliance' into the slot and hit enter after retyping it twice and confirming it was spelled correctly.

"Alright. It's done and up for joining." Zeke yawned and rubbed his eyes. The girl who was in his room was messing with her menu, which was all blurry to him. Strange.

It was when a little message appeared in front of him when he realized she was looking right at him. Zeke shook his head lightly and pressed the accept button. A small health bar appeared beside his with the name 'Kat_Goddess.' Zeke slightly sniggered at her name and deeply regretted it.

"You think that's funny? Just look at your name. 'MetalDargon'. You must have been so exited, you typed in the first thing that comes and misspell it." She huffed.

"Well, what would you rather I call you? I'm not going to run around calling you the Cat Goddess. I'd rather you call me something like, 'Metal' or 'Dragon Swordsman'. Yeah." Zeke looked cocky and smirked at her from his position from the wall.

"What ever, 'Dragon Assman',"she said. Zeke tripped over himself and his face turned red again. He turned away and sulked. "Tell me your real name and I'll tell you mine." She smiled at him. When he looked back at her, she was using her best Bambi eyes and Zeke just melted.

"Fine. You win. My real name is... My name is Zeke. Whew." Zeke put his hand on his chest, breathing a little faster than before.

"Now, was that so hard? My name in Real Life is Amelia. I'm seventeen and I'm a hunter by class." Zeke nodded and looked at her hair. It looked so soft.

"I've always liked that name." He didn't mean to think aloud, but it still managed to slip out. Amelia noticed the way he looked at her that he liked her.

"Enjoy what you see?" She pulled her crossed arms up a little higher and smirked at Zeke's stuttering denial. "So you don't like what you see?" Zeke blushed an even darker shade of red and he muttered something.

"That's not what I meant." Amelia pulled out her knife and was on him in a second. Her blade was pressed to his throat and he spluttered out an apology.

"Then tell me. What did you mean?" She released some of the pressure and a red line was left on his neck.

"I just... I just was looking at your hair," he said, half of it was a lie. He did look at her chest once. Or twice. Or five times. "I just was wondering where you got the stripe in your hair." The blade vanished in a flash of grey.

"Alright. I'll tell you then." She went back to the bed and sat down on the poorly cushioned mattress. "You wanted information? I'll give you more information than any Info Broker here." Zeke meant to ask what and Info Broker was, but Amelia cut him off. "I'll get to that. But first, I'll tell you about your first question. You see, at 14:00 today, the server for Alpha Blade Online started. It was normal, people fighting, laughing, all that. You hitting me. Then people started disappearing from everyone's' friend lists when the died. Then, at 17:30 today, a gift appeared in everyone's inventory and instructions on how to get it. It was a message that told us no one could leave. I thought you'd have read it by now."

"Me and Rush were probably being chased down by bandits. Maybe that's why that one lady was freaking out..." Zeke pondered while Amelia raised her eyebrow.

"Well, it should still be in you inventory. It came in a newbie chest or something. Go ahead and open it. I'll wait, so take your time." She pulled her knees to her chest and leaned back against the wall behind her, closing her eyes. Zeke pulled down and opened his menu with the same bell sound as before. He opened his character menu. The inventory was the same as the other tabs, no evil black flames were dancing around it, no skulls of death. He wearily pressed the button and his inventory opened. He reopened his squinted eyes and the slots were now filled with stacks Porker legs, leather, and his arm guards. The newbie chest was still there and he pressed on it.

After pressing the open button, his eyes flew closed in fear. When nothing happened, he cracked an eyelid and only a new sub menu appeared over the chest. He pressed the only option and the chest dissolved and a new message appeared.

_Congratulations__!_

_You received:_

_1 Newbie Guide_

_5 Bread (C-rank)_

_5 Water (C-rank)_

_5 Skill Points_

_1 Skill Guide_

After Zeke read the message, it disappeared. He inventory now had the items it had said he now owned. He opened the newbie guide and a floating book appeared.

_Thank you for purchasing and playing my game, Alpha Blade Online. I hope you'll enjoy it. You probably have noticed your menus are not how you'd think it is. I have removed the logout button so you can play this game for as long as you want! The only bad part, as I'm sure you already know, is that there are not respawns, no second chances. The SysmGear will produce a highly charged pulse, frying your brain. You won't come back if you die here. The helmet you put on your head will come off, yes, but only at the cost of your life. It's built-in nuclear battery will last for fifty years before it weakens enough for your brain to be only mildly scrambled. _

_But I have good news! There is a way to survive this game. You must travel from one floor to the next by defeating the boss of every level. If one of you reaches the top of floor ninety and beat the final boss, I will allow all to live after that moment and all to log out, those who remain. You might be hoping that I'm lying, but no one, not even I can return the dead. Enjoy your gameplay and happy hunting! _

The next page held a map, but it was useless. No map would tell him where he could find Taiaki Adament so he could kill him. No map would tell the Dragon Swordsman where to go but he did look at the nearest village and decided he would go there. Zeke grabbed the book and tore it'd binding, destroying it all. It exploded into white confetti and the map drifted down before it turned into a comet and flew to his menu. He looked over to Amelia and saw she was sound asleep on his bed, still leaning on the wall.

* * *

After half an hour, Zeke was ready. He'd read up a bit on skills and he'd equipt a few *cough* his one sword skill and also spent his sword skills he'd earned in blacksmithery and tailoring. He'd put most of his Attribute points into his health, strength and speed and equipt all of his new armor, which was the arm guards and a small hard leather chest guard. He also managed to get an item from that Burrowing creature.

He dragged the new gauntlets from his inventory, onto the small outline of a character. The same blue comet came from his menu and they appeared on his hands, white and scaled, like the hide of that beast's paws. The claws on them were smaller than the huge one's it'd been toting around, but they granted him the power to burrow at the cost of mana, like a skill would. They also boosted his attack a bit. He'd learned this by tapping the name and opening the help tab. It explained it in bold letters. He knew he looked strange, the white of his hard gloves clashing badly with his green shirt and red eyes, as well as his blue chest piece and arm guards. He would visit the shops or forge his own later, but he would wear it for now.

As he was adjusting the goggles on his forehead, Amelia stirred. At first she was still asleep, but soon after, she opened her eyes and yawned. Her hair wasn't to bad, but it was still a little sleep tousled. Zeke looked at her as she pulled a bit of her hair out of her mouth. Her hand reached over and apparently she expected something to be there. She fell the foot to the ground and looked around. She had fallen to the side in her sleep and laid backwards on Zeke's bed. Now she faced Zeke with a red mark on her forehead. He smiled at her and some words came to his head, ones he knew would draw them closer.

"Morning, sleepy. Did you sleep well? It's almost 10:00..."

* * *

**Alright! I got the seventh chapter done. It's going quite well. I've purchased a drawing pencil. It was expensive, yes, but now I can actually draw. Who knew I was that good? I've draw the Inn's room they're in. I could use some help on drawing characters, though. I can't draw Amelia or Zeke very well, but I will post my other drawings, if I can, on my Google account. My account is BurgerofCheese15, so keep an eye out for my drawings. LowePlays, signing out.**


	8. Shopping Time

**Here it is, my readers! It's finally finished. Sorry for getting it out so late. But, here it is, so please enjoy it and leave comments for any boss ideas. **

* * *

He smiled at her and some words came to his head, ones he knew would draw them closer.

"Morning, sleepy. Did you sleep well? It's almost 10:00..."

"What's going on," she asked sleep still hazing her vision. "Where are you going?"

"I know the reason why Taiaki Adament trapped us here. He just want's his entertainment, like we're just a bunch of gladiators in the Colosseum. So, I'm gonna go kill him." The gleam in his red eyes was dark, yet not quite murderous. Zeke was too kind to kill, but he was still angry.

"Well, wait for me. If you're going somewhere, I want to follow you, O Fearless Leader." She smirked at her comment and groggily got up, but then she felt around her face as if looking for something. "Have you seen my glasses?"

"You have glasses? I don't remember you having any on earlier, when we were fighting the Burrowing Beast." She suddenly looked at Zeke, clarity coming into her shockingly bright blue eyes.

"Did you get the special item from it," She asked before she saw his hands. The heavy gloves with claws knuckles were still on his hands, contrasting his clothing. "You did. That's the reason why I joined you in that fight against that field boss." She looked away from Zeke, like she'd betrayed him. That's exactly how she felt, now she was his fighting partner.

"Hey, it's fine. I'd have probably have done that same thing had I know that was a field boss. Aren't there, like, three of each field boss? Ever?"

"Yeah. That's right. So that also means that there are two more of those beasts. If we can kill the other two, we can complete the set of Burrowing armor. I wanted to be the the one to get the claws, though."

"Well, like a famous Japanese samurai once said, 'It's no use crying over spilled dairy products!' I might give them to you if I find something better in the shops today. Equip whatever stats, skills, and equipment you want. I'm leaving in ten or less minutes." Zeke turned around and Amelia opened her menu.

* * *

The two were walking down the streets, looking from one vendor to the next. It was surprisingly hot today and Zeke thought his skin would sun burn pretty bad but Amelia kept reassuring him the game mechanics wouldn't allow it. Not unless you paid money to have your skin changed. Non the less, he still tried to keep out of the sun. He was really warm and it wasn't because of just the hot rays of the sun. As the sun rose to it's peak, it still grew warmer until it was at least thirty degrees Celsius.

"C'mon, Mr. Dragon Man. I want to go look at some new weapons." Amelia had already dragged him to a dozen pointless shops and didn't buy a thing. Zeke had eyed a few things but found out the cool stuff wasn't in his price range. He just didn't have three thousand Gil. And this stall didn't have much either. Most of the weapons were five hundred to two thousand Gil for one weapon.

"I'd like this bow, plus a hundred arrows," Amelia told the NPC running the shop. Her choice was a bronze-looking wooden longbow with some sort of red metal reinforcing it. Zeke could barely afford it.

"Ah, such a cu'ie. I know the price fer it says a thousand, bu' I c'n tell yeh ain't carry around tha' kind o' money. I'll split yeh a deal." The man behind the two-foot counter was lucky there was two feet between Zeke and himself because Zeke had grabbed his sword and would not hesitate to kill this con. The only barriers were Amelia's hand and the table; It would look awkward trying to get across the table to impale him. "How 'bout I sell it to yeh for seven-fifty. Eh?" Then, Amelia put on her best 'cutie' look and twirled her hair.

"Oh, mister. I don't have that much money. I only have six hundred Gil. Won't you sell it to me for that?" She was too extravagant on her acting, but the NPC pondered on her words before answering her.

"Oh, alrigh'. I can't turn down an offer like tha' from such a pre'y girl. Here ya go." Her imitation of a school girl quickly disappeared. A message appeared on the counter and Zeke caught a look at the numbers above her.

_Balance: 1576 Gil_

It soon dropped below a thousand but stopped at 976 Gil. Zeke glanced over at a blue sword and saw that the price was nine hundred Gil. He knew he could afford it, but he wasn't going to spend all of his hard earned money in one place.

"Hey, Amelia," He whispered. "Can you get him to sell me that sword over there? Please?" She sighed and put back on her mask of cuteness.

"Hey, mister? Can you sell that sword over there to my friend? He's had his eyes on it for a while." She rocked back and forth on her heels.

"Sure. Th't'll be nine-hundred Gil fer 'The Rebellion.' I won't le' it go fer any less." His demeanor changed quickly when his eyes changed from Amelia to Zeke.

"Oh, mister," Amelia said, putting on her pouty face. "Won't you sell it for just a little bit less? It doesn't even look that powerful. Something like seven hundred seems fair to me."

"Well, on'y because yeh so cute. I'll sell dis fine blade fer seven hundred Gil. Final offer." He didn't look as happy with her as before, allowing to deals to be cut short of profitable. The message for buying the Rebellion appeared in front of Zeke. He saw his balance was lower than he'd though. It wasn't 1146 Gil, it was 946. And with seven hundred taken, his balance dropped down to 246. He was as poor as when he'd started this game. "Than's fer your bis'ness." Zeke decided then and there we would never visit this town again.

* * *

"You owe me now," Amelia said as they walked past the borders. Zeke was busy equipping his Rebellion and didn't quite hear her. "Hey! Are you even listening to me?"

"What?" His sword flew out of his menu on the comet and attached it's self to his back. His brown strap was replaced by a black one and it weighed about twice as much. He stumbled and nearly fell.

"I said, you owe me. And I'm thinking dinner. When we get to Tilla, you have to buy me dinner."

"Why?" Zeke didn't even get a chance to defend himself before his nose slammed into the ground.

"Why? I just got you this sword on your back though embarrassing myself. So you owe me dinner!" Amelia was sitting on his back, her knife pressing into his back. The blade entered his body and his health bar started to drop.

"Alright! Alright! I'll get you dinner! I just don't have very much money." Zeke still had his face in the dirt and got the taste of grass in his mouth. Amelia's blade pulled away and Zeke took it as a notion he could get up. He lifted his head out of the grass, only to have it shoved back down; Amelia had used her hand this time.

"I guess it's a good reason to go hunting," she whispered in his ear before letting up. "We'll go to Tilla, but thanks to your poor funds, we'll have to hunt for Gil and Exp." Zeke struggled to get up, having his face smashed twice in less the a minute was just wrong.

"Fine. Alright. I probably deserve it." He tried to make and excuse but Amelia cut him off.

"If you try to feel sorry for yourself, or make any move to get in my way, I'll make sure you suffer. Not kill you, but make sure you have a painful night."

"Okay! Okay! I get it! Let's just go already!" He didn't want to argue with her. Amelia's face contorted when she was angry, making her soft features not as beautiful as before. It's a good thing she sighed, but walked away, towards the open field. Zeke followed, but his mind was elsewhere. He followed Amelia's back, but that's all he saw.

_Sure, she's pretty and all, but she hates me, _Zeke thought.

_So, _his mind retorted. _You still like her. You'll be able to get her to like you, too!_

_But she'll hurt me if I try to hit on her._

_You'll never know unless you try!_

_But I- _A shrill cry sounded, revering him from his thoughts. A puny level 2 Porker appeared. Zeke acted fast and unsheathed his new sword. It was heavier that his old sword, but at least it had a shine and a sharp edge. Plus the hilt looked cool, it's green metal shining with blue gems on it. Letting out a battle cry, he charged the boar and killed it in one swipe to the head...

* * *

**That was a long chapter. For me, at least. It took me three days to complete, mainly because I was writing late and my internet gets shut off at night. Sorry for the wait and the weight, but I has it completed. I'll see you guys either tomorrow or Tuesday. LowePlays, signing out!**


	9. Some Real Emotions

**Here's the ninth chapter. This is my longest story yet, but don't worry, I'll still keep writing. The Boss of floor one is coming up in probably the tenth or eleventh chapter. I'm not sure which because I have an idea I might include. I'm still deciding, but read on and enjoy. Leave your comments and suggestions.**

* * *

Two months had passed between the start of this death match. Many had died already, while other's levels grew. Zeke's levels had grown in the last two months, along with Amelia's. He'd learned that Blades of Alliance was the most powerful guild in the first week and continued to be one of the top guilds in the game. Now there was a rumor that the first dungeon had been found, along with the first boss. Now, the top five clans were meeting in a room in an Inn in a town called 'Fiscama'.

"Okay, everyone! We believe we are close, even think we've pin-pointed where he's located." A man with deep purple hair said. Zeke believed his name was Darien, but he wasn't sure. "We just need the means to defeat him. Now, the beta testers have confirmed that the boss's name is 'Arboth the Akon' and is an elemental beast. It uses a tree element, meaning it's weak to flame magic and weapons. So everyone! Go and equip yourselves with any flame items or magic you think is necessary! Meeting adjourned! We'll meet at the entrance of the Boss room tomorro, at four or so. I'll send you cords later." After Darien's speech ended, most of the members wandered upstairs to their rooms. Others went off to do who the hell _knows_ what.

Zeke and Amelia had their own rooms upstairs, but other plans were in mind. They departed, conversing with each other, debating about the upcoming boss battle.

After two months, the game had become more than zeros and ones. It was no longer a fantasy world. It was his real world. He wasn't going back, so he'd become part of the game. The deaths of others still haunted him, yes, but the explosion of blue pixels had become natural. He knew it meant death, even if he couldn't see a body.

"I could burrow underneath it and get it from under it. It would be simple."

"It can probably move faster than your hole does. Both of them."

"Okay. Why are you so edgy? You were tense during the meeting and now you're just being rude to me. Why?" Amelia stopped under an archway and looked at the stars.

" You don't care anymore. I don't want to be with someone who just wants to play video games night and day."

"Of course I care! I wouldn't let anything kill you, even if it costs me mine."

"This is exactly what I mean. You don't care about winning the game to be free, you just want to play the game."

"... You think this is a game? This is more real than two and a half months ago!" Both voices had risen and people were starting to look.

"At least I have a family and a soul! They're all probably sobbing as we speak over my hospital bed! And you just want to play a video game." Amelia was crying now and her voice shook. She looked close to just collapsing. Now, Zeke understood.

"Hey, I'm just trying to help everyone at the same time," he said as he embraced her. She buried her face in his shoulder and hugged him tightly. Her tears were no longer silent and she cried into his shoulder for a few minutes before she realized what she was doing.

"I- I'm sorry. I should be- be better than this." She wiped her nose and her face with her sleeve. Her eyes were red and a bit puffy. "I- I know how you- you feel about me. It's hard to miss." Zeke's face went red, like Amelia's.

"Do you accept my, uh... feeling?" Zeke was face-palming himself in his mind. He'd never asked out a girl before, and he was pretty sure he'd completely messed up this one. That is, until Amelia spoke.

"I- I accept them. And I sort- sort of feel the same. Do you accept mine?" Zeke was shocked. He'd actually asked out a girl and gotten a yes answer. He nearly choked on the air it's self.

"I, uh, y-yeah! I t-totally accept your feeling. I- I was wondering if you- you wanted to... go out? You know, with me?" Amelia let out a fresh wave of tears into Zeke's other shoulder, have soaked the first one. Zeke patted her back until he realized she was nodding.

"I- I'll go with y-you anywhere you w-want." They sat there in the middle of the street, embracing each other. They just sat there, not saying anything. They sat there until Zeke shivered. Amelia noticed, and the night seemed darker as they got up, their faces bright cherry red. They decided that it had been quite an emotional night and walked to their Inn rooms.

* * *

The morning came too quickly. The bright sunlight poured into the room that Zeke slept in and the flash of sunlight woke him. He covered his eyes as he yawned and moved his real goggles down over his eyes and everything turned red. He'd had them made based off his eye-color so he could see the world in a different color. And they'd cost him almost every Gil coin he owned. Then he remembered last nights events.

As he went downstairs, the smile on his face could not be changed. He ate whatever the barman shoved under his face and his smile widened by the sight of Amelia coming downstairs.

"Hey," he said, once she came to the table.

"I'll guess you slept better than me," she groaned back. "By the way, you look ridiculous, that silly grin of yours and your goggles." Zeke pushed his goggles back up to his hair. He'd forgotten he'd been wearing them, even with the red tint.

"Sorry. I must have woken up with them down. I forgot."

"Right... Wait, you sleep with your goggles on?" Zeke just didn't take them off when he went to bed. He started to mess around with his goggles.

"I just wear 'em," he said. "Is it so weird that I wear them when I sleep?"

"A little bit, yeah." She ran a hand through her long brown hair. Just watching it sent a shiver down Zeke's spine, it's shimmer hypnotic. "I could probably guess why you're smiling so much. And if you try to attempt it here, I'll break you fingers." Zeke's face went hot from embarrassment. He was thankful, though, that it wasn't Valentine's day. Running around with hot pink cheeks and ears? God...

"N-no! I can't even remember my dreams! I just- What the hell!" Amelia had her new silver blade pressed to his throat. In his panic, Zeke fell off of his seat and Amelia had followed, now sitting on his chest. Then, she started laughing. Zeke didn't understand, but let out a meek 'heh heh' and pushed her knife away, his neck bleeding the pixelated blood.

"You should- should see your face!" Amelia barely finished her sentence before leaning against the table so she could laugh even harder. Did he have ketchup or something on his nose? He brushed his face briefly, trying to disguise it as an innocent nose brush. Amelia was to busy laughing and didn't notice. Most of the people, of which totaled three, had looked away and ignored them.

"What?! What's so funny?" Amelia still laughed but what could make her keep laughing? What _was_ so funny? Amelia made a motion she heard, but she was doubled up and out of breath.

"I- It's- I just-" She started laughing for some reason. Zeke covered his face with his gloves. After a minute, her laughing stopped. "Sorry. It's just- You're face was so funny for a second there."

"More like five minutes ago." Zeke peeked in between his fingers. Amelia's face was red from laughing and her breathing was a little more than a pant, as if she'd been running. "Are you done?"

"Yeah. Anyways, I'm going to go shopping to get a flame spell and maybe some arrows. I guess we can meet back up later, then head to the boss room. Alright?" Zeke nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I got some shopping to do as well. At least, I need some new equipment." Zeke still had the same gear as before and most of it was out of date, except for his gauntlets. They'd come in handy before.

"Okay. Tonight, at the boss entrance, alright?" Zeke nodded again. Setting out on his own, he went to the blacksmith's first. He needed a new weapon soon. The Rebellion he wielded was just too light now. He could probably toss it five- maybe ten meters into the air, it was so light.

"Hello! How might I help you?" The blacksmith at the counter was a real player. The last time he'd met player blacksmith, he'd had his goggles made. _Custom orders!_ Just what he wanted.

"Oh, hey. Can I, uh, get a new sword? Mine's kinda cheap now that my level's high enough..."

* * *

**And... It's done. My inspiration for the last part is my rewatching of episode seven. I will have the sword made as soon as I have a color and the name I want and then you'll have your tenth chapter. I can't believe we're already at ten. Zeke's kinda grown on me, more than any other character has. I- I feel like he's almost a real person. And then I feel like a puppet master! Mwa ha ha! I'm sorry about the whole emotional part and that it wasn't very good but I'm planning on breaking the two apart; it's just too early for them to be together. But it's a surprise. Anyways, til next time! LowePlays, signing out!**


	10. Forging the Dragon

**After much time off and much stress, I'm back from midterms. I will continue to write this story and, I swear, it's getting better. The base of this chapter comes from the seventh episode of SAO. I don't own SAO or anything like it. This chapter was hard for me because I really want to get to the boss fight. I really just want to get to it, but I still have to get Zeke up there. Read on and enjoy and leave a comment for suggestions...**

* * *

The last time he'd met player blacksmith, he'd had his goggles made. _Custom orders!_ Just what he wanted.

"Oh, hey. Can I, uh, get a new sword? Mine's kinda cheap now that my level's high enough. And I want it custom made, dragon handle. Single-handed longsword, please."

"Uh... Are you sure you want to buy a _custom _blade? You haven't even seen my stock yet. My quality is good and all, but wouldn't you be more satisfied with a pre-made blade?" Her brown, short hair hung in her eyes, hiding the guilt in her eyes.

"I'm set on getting the blade I want. It's got to be custom made as well." The girl who was in charge had a look of disbelief.

"You- you actually want to buy one of my custom made weapons? But, don't you know how much metals will cost you?"

"I'm absolutely sure I'll be able to buy your finest blade." Zeke was lying through his teeth and he knew it. It was a trick he'd learned from Amelia. "I have more than enough Gil even for armor." Zeke had a small smirk, even if his face did feel a little warm. His heart did slow down though when the blacksmith's face lost doubt.

"Well, if you say so. Do you have a design in mind?" She raised her heavy hammer and hefted it over her shoulder. Zeke nodded before answering.

"Yeah. Like I said, it's got to have a dragon hilt and an enchantment to give it Flame Strike. I want it to be a longsword, as well. I don't care what color you dye it. Actually, keep it it's natural color."

"And...? Do you want me to make it out of? You have to know exactly what you want." Zeke hated deciding these things.

"Just give me something powerful and heavy. And just give it a random name." Zeke had wanted to get into making his own weapons but most of the powerful guilds wanted his help to find the boss room. He never had time to explore other skills than combat.

"Whatever, but if you want a good blade, it's going to be blue-ish, maybe black. Unfortunately, The assault team's already cleaned me out of Loria metals. It's like they've already found the boss..." Her face had a look of disgust for them.

"Well, that means I should have gotten here earlier. We're going to siege the boss room tonight."

"So you're one of them," she said, her face looking as if Zeke was filth. "I guess you'll be wanting a Loria sword as well. But, too bad for you!"

"C'mon! We're trying to help you guys get back to the real world! Just help me out and make me your last Loria sword. Please?" The Smith looked around and switched her weight back and forth, trying to decide.

"Fine! But just because you convinced me. And you'd better pay up when we get back from foraging!" She was blushing slightly.

"Wai- What? What do you mean, 'Get back?' Why can't you just buy some Loria?"

"Because it's a quest item and since I haven't had any recent players completing that quest and selling me the metal. So we're going to have to go complete the quest ourselves."

"Well, why should I go with you?" He just wanted a badass sword, to go quest hunting.

"Because! If you don't, I'm not making your stupid dragon sword!"

"... Fine, I'll go do your quest. But I better have a discount on this."

* * *

After an hour of following the blacksmith girl, they came to a clearing in the head-high grass and an old miner-looking guy sat in a small hole. The journey to was fairly boring. The blacksmith only wanted to talk and Zeke was never the greatest for words, exactly. He was always saying the wrong things to girls that talked to him. Amelia was different, though. Zeke wished they hadn't parted so he could have some company that wasn't twisting his stomach into knots. The only thing he really listened to was that her name was Kira and that the quest didn't involve fighting some weakling monster.

"Excuss me, sir," Kira called out. A message box appeared in front of her and she looked at it for a while. Then she turned toward Zeke. "What's your name?"

"I'm Metaldargon of the Blades of Alliance. We're the fifth strongest guild on the entire floor. It's about to become a lot more competitive now that we've found the boss." While Zeke was talking, a tag team quest invite from 'Kira-Kitty'. He accepted it as soon as he stopped rambling.

"I really don't care, but I really want to get that Loria metal and get rid of you."

"Then why have you been talking to me?"

"Because I'm the leader. So come on and help me find some crystals. I just hope your mining skill's high enough..." Zeke's ears turned a dark shade of crimson as he nervously laughed. His mining level was two. Was it high enough. Kira noticed and put her hand to her eyes and groaned. "I'll lend you a pick, but you have to mine the rocks yourself." After a few moments, she tossed a heavy pickax towards Zeke, who had stoop down to catch the tool.

"Should I be looking for a certain gem or crystal or whatever?"

"Just crystals. Go look in the nearby rocks already. And don't bother me until you have at least ten Crystals." She turned huffily away and disappeared into the grass. Zeke released his breath and his facade fell. He hefted the pick and walked into the grass, snorting every ten seconds to keep in out of his nose. Luckily, he found a rock right off the bat. Or more like, it found him.

He was just walking, having been in the grass for about a minute when his boot hit something. In less than a second, he was on his face, goggles pressing into his head. He lept up and drew his blade, expecting a fight. Nothing happened.

Realizing his stupidity, he put his Rebellion back. He spotted the boulder he'd tripped over and picked up his dropped pick. With a swing of his arms and the whoosh of the swing... he bounced harmlessly against the rock.

"What!?" Zeke swung again and again until he saw a message.

_Mining Level Increased!_

He cleared the message and swung again. Now his swing left a crack. Invigorated, he swung again. The boulder cracked down the middle and another message box appeared.

_You got a Ruby!_

Damn it! He didn't need a ruby, he needed a crystal. He was about to start out for another boulder when Kira came out from the near by grass. Her leather apron was replaced by a small breastplate.

"Have you got enough crystals, yet? I have nineteen of 'em and I haven't been able to find anymore rocks."

"No. All I've been able to find is a stinkin' Ruby." Kira started to look shocked.

"Wha- How could you get a Ruby!? Those are one of the most valuable mining drops on this whole floor! I'm- I mean, we're keeping it." She nodded, mainly to herself.

"That was a crystal? Well, what are we going to do in the mean time," Zeke asked, flustered that he couldn't just be done with this whole ordeal. He'd had enough trouble for the day and the high sun told him he might be late. Surely they wouldn't start the boss fight without the Blades of Alliance, right?

"We'll just have to wait the forty two minutes until the next respawn of rocks. Plus, I'm hungry." She plopped down, though Zeke wondered how comfortable it was since she was now wearing armor instead of work clothes. Imagine, metal pressing into your back. If it isn't unpleasant, it wasn't pressing hard enough.

"Did you bring a picnic or something," Zeke said, perking up at the prospect of free food.

"No! Get your own grub." Damn it! He opened his menu and retrieved a seasoned porkchop. It was cold because it was from the picnic two days ago.

* * *

The forty five minutes they sat there, they hardly spoke to each other. There was talking, though. Kira was a non-stop word spigot. She would not shut up, no matter how angry Zeke got. Finally, a boulder spawned _near_ them. In fact, Zeke was the first one to find it and he was lying on the grass with his eyes closed.

"-hammer's my best works so far." Kira was still talking when a chime sounded and Zeke suddenly felt like a bus hit him. The air was forced from his lungs when the rock landed on him.

"Help. Me." He watched as his health bar started to drop until the rock exploded, Kira holding her pick and a purple gem. "Thanks. You probably saved my life."

"Almost beaten by a measly rock? A lead frontlines soldier? This is going to be the joke of the week, I tell you." Her smirk told him she was going to tell every customer she got. "We have all the crystals we need so let's go make your sword." She led him through the labyrinth of grass and reeds until they came back to the clearing with the miner. She simply walked up to him and pressed his shoulder and a menu appeared.

_Quest Complete!_

_Gil: 200_

_EXP: 650_

_Item: Loria Ingot_

"Good thing we have our Loria Ingots. I would have done this quest a few times to get this stuff." Kira looked happy for the first time. "Let's go and make that sword, Metal."

"Couldn't I have just stayed back and done some other things? Like buying armor?"

"No," she snapped. "You had to go with me. How else would I- I mean, we have gotten a ruby if you hadn't come?" Zeke shrugged.

"Can we get there quickly? I have Teleport Stones, if you need one." He'd opened his menu and withdrawn two blue, transparent bricks of glass and offered one to Kira.

"I have my own," she said, smacking away his hand and stone. She retrieved one of her own and called out, "Teleport to Fiscama!" Zeke repeated the activation chant as Kira disappeared with a shower of sparkles from the shattered stone. Moments later, they were standing next to each other in town, facing the Inn Zeke had slept in.

"C'mon," Kira called, already walking towards her shop. Zeke followed with his eyes in Kira's hair. The minutes of walking was short as he focused on the wavy strands of her short hair.

"Alright. I need you to give me your ingot of Loria. For crafting your stupid sword." Zeke did so and watched the metal pass between them. Kira then placed both of the red and black ingots from her inventory into a furnace and waited ten seconds by pumping the bellows. The two ingots had merged into a large metal pole. Using tongs, Kira removed the red-hot metal from the furnace and placed it lovingly on an anvil and got a hammer. Then, she adjusted a few settings before slamming the hammer into the cooling metal. Two more cycle went by before she dunked it in a brine solution and placed it in the furnace again.

After five minutes of watching her work, a white glow enveloped the metal and it's shape changed. Now, the deep, strong rust color was a shining red blade and the dark black was a pair of dragon wings as the hilt. A red leather wrapped the handle was topped with a black dragon head. It was beautiful.

"It's finished, Metal," Kira said, even though he was already looking at it. "I've taken the liberty of naming it, as asked, and it's called 'The Dragon's Blood.'" Zeke reached out a hand and picked up the blade. It was a bit heavy, but it's balance was perfect and the grip fit him extremely well. It was almost creepy. He liked it. Plus, he felt like he had a title to make.

"I like it," he said with a grin. "But can I get a sheathe for it? And can it be black?"

* * *

**Ha! I finished it with a name for Zeke as a swordsman. Legend-ary. It's amazing. If you're Clark Astle, you already know what the name is. Your feedback is greatly appreciated, no matter how rude. I'm a tough guy. Send me any kind of feedback you want, but be truthful, please. I hope you guys stick with me, in the good and bad. So, until next time. LowePlays, signing out!**


	11. The Art of Stealing

**I'm back with another chapter of the Blades of Alliance! I want to thank Clark Astle or pokedude888 for his help and his support. It would help if you others did too. It's hard writing, you know? Anyways, Zeke's off to fight the boss, but I decided to add another character to the fray. The real fight will come next time. I'm sorry to go back on what I said yesterday. But read on and enjoy. Leave reviews and comment your suggestions. Or PM me.**

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"I like it," he said with a grin. "But can I get a sheathe for it? And can it be black?"

"I can dye the one you got from my making of the blade. The game automatically gives you one, but I can make it whatever color you want. For a price." A glint shone in Kira's turquoise eyes.

"Everything has a price, doesn't it?" Zeke probably wouldn't have a Gilen left after this.

"Well, I'll just change it for you now," Kira said while messing around in her menu. Suddenly, a blue comet came and a the blood red leather sheathe hovered in the air, resting halfway in the comet. Then, Kira pressed another thing in her menu and the sheathe's leather turned to a dark grey. Then the sheathe dropped down and Zeke caught it with his spare hand.

"Thanks. How much do I owe you? I know I probably took a lot of your time." Zeke opened his menu and looked up at Kira. She held up five fingers. "Five thousand? That's cheap."

"Are you stupid? I want fifty thousand." Zeke's face flushed. "But because you helped me, I'm willing to knock off a full ten thousand Gil. So give me my forty thousand Gil." Zeke only had forty eight thousand. That was close. A little too close.

The trade was simple. Just select the amount and the player. He watched his balance drop. He definitely would not have enough for armor.

"Well, now you have your sword, you can go. Good day, a du, Aufwiedersehen." Kira pushed him out of her workshop and he shuffled out of the warm shop. Zeke felt comfortable with the new heavy sword across his shoulder. He felt normal...

Then, his thoughts shifted to last night. This wasn't the real world. Even the realisticality of this world was fake. It was like his mind was contesting him. The more he thought the world was but numbers, his mind tried to tell him it was the real world. The feeling of indecision was maddening.

For the next twenty minutes of internal debate, Zeke passed a small enchantment shop. That's right. He wanted a Flame Strike enchantment. And he had just the item to do it.

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After an hour of haggling with the NPCs and three thousand Gil lighter, he walked out of the dingy little building. His Dragon's Blood now had a red enchanted gem implanted in the hilt, pressing down on his back. Then, a hand grabbed his shoulder, his left one with his sword.

"Are you missing something," a man dressed a green cloak asked. He looked... wealthy. His turquoise hair and green eyes were definitely not their natural color and any person who was in the Assault team usually spent their money on good weapons instead of expensive cosmetics. This man, who was no more than fourteen, had a large green green dagger strapped to his waist. Zeke had not seen any green metals and the dye would not look as pure as this blade looked.

It took a moment to realize what was missing. The man was holding a sack of silver coins that looked to be four to five thousand Gil. It was his money. The man had stolen every coin he had. With the look on his face, the man laughed a high pitched laugh, which did not match his rough voice. As he laughed, Zeke also noticed a small scar on his chin and he kicked him there, focusing on that spot.

Expecting to hit the thief's throat, he was shocked to see the young man catch his boot and his green eyes turned serious. He was fast. Super fast. With a twist of his wrist, Zeke was flung to the cobblestone road. His health dropped slightly as his cheek grazed the rock, the only way to be injured in a town.

"If you want, I can just give you back your money. It isn't much, so I can let it," reaching into the pouch. "Slip through my fingers." The metal disks bounced off the street and Zeke snatched a few up, disappearing as he returned them to his balance. "Now, now. Say please." The green man bent slightly over him.

"Can I please have my money back," Zeke growled through clenched teeth. This guy pissed him off so badly.

"That's more like it!" He dropped the small sack into Zeke's out stretched hands. It vanished in an explosion of blue sparkles and his balance now read 5, 417 Gil. He was missing a hundred Gil. Zeke sighed as he reached out his palm. The boy's grin betrayed him and he dropped a coin into Zeke's hand.

"So," Zeke said with a careful eye. "What's your name, Slick hands." The boy adjusted his cloak and put his hands in his pockets.

"My name's Kain. That's my game name. What's your's? It better not be stupid."

"If you want to know, my real name is Zeke, but my in game name is MetalDargon." The boy stiffled a laugh. "Got a problem with my name, _Kain?_"

"MetalDargon? I've never heard of such a ridiculous name. What's a dargon?" Tears came to his eyes as he tried to restrain himself.

"I just misspelled my name, okay? It happens."

"I see you have a new Loria sword. Are you fighting up in the boss room? Because most of the players are already up there." Kain pulled out his knife. "Luckily, I got this cool little baby. 100% Caibor Ingot made this guy. Mob drop."

"Are you fighting up there," Zeke asked, trying to keep a straight face. He didn't want to look weaker than this... this boy.

"I'm about to go up there. You'd better have my back, Zeke-o." Kain turned and, with a flourish of his cloak, vanished. Zeke saw by the clock that it was already 2:14. He needed an hour and a half to get up there to the boss room, judging by Darien's cords. He'd be cutting it close...

He set a brisk paced, not too fast, but faster than usual. As he was nearing the edge of town, he spotted something on display. It was a coat. It didn't look too special. What caught his eye was it's blood-red color and the scale design. It was almost like it was fate that he saw it. He had to buy it. If he couldn't afford it... Well, Kain had shown him the benefits of a thief.

"Hey. How much for the coat." He saw the stall's owner was an NPC. No male player would wear a pink tutu and a black leather jacket.

"I'll take nine thousand, but a deal can be made for more." _Or less. A lot less. _Zeke had a plan, but he had to equip a certain skill. Opening his menu, he opened his skills and opened Thievery. He was only level one, having never stolen anything, but he still had the 'Steal' skill. Time to see how good this NPC was made.

Zeke closed his menu with a flick and activated the skill with a hand gesture, like a shadow puppet cat. He inched his hand forward the moment he felt the skill activating, cloaking his hand in a black shimmer.

"Hey. What're you doing?" Zeke panicked and lurched forward. The stall man had noticed him. As soon as his hand closed on the scale patterned coat, Zeke pulled it off the display and ran. He ran all the way past the border and, the moment he crossed, a message appeared.

_Thievery Level Increase!_

He'd escaped in one piece and now he had a cool coat. He opened his menu and put the coat into his inventory. He then pulled it onto his character in the menu. The heavy coat materialized on him, the molded leather had two metal bits on his forearms and his chest was a metal breastplate that clasped with the other side. Zeke loved the jacket the reached down to his knees and buttoned it half way, up to the metal clasp. He wasn't going to be giving it up for a long time.

Remembering his task, he burst into a full on sprint towards the towering dungeon, still miles away. Zeke knew if he was in the real world, he would not be running this fast. He was running faster than an Olympic runner. Even so, the Dungeon was miles away. Closer... Closer...

He ran for forty five minutes straight before coming to a panting stop, his air now coming in with shaking and ragged gasps. He'd never run that far, nor would he ever again. Walking around the base was easier once Zeke caught his breath and he quickly found the entry. He entered with caution and pulled the collar of his new coat up.

His eyes adjusted to the dark hallway as he made his way up through the dungeon. The walls were a deep and dark blue. Almost gray except there were glowing lines in the wall, like glow sticks. When he reached the end of the hall, he found waiting for him a doorway. He entered and saw a spiral staircase. Damn it! More exercise. When will it end!? Zeke ran up the steps and his boots made the entire place echoed, making Zeke feel like he was marching with an army.

"Hello," a voice from below called. Zeke's foot falls faltered. (tongue twister, that one) It was a female's voice. "Is someone here?" Curses. Someone must have followed him. Zeke carefully put a foot forward and continued climbing, now followed by a sound of ten dragging cloaks. The effect was eerie.

Suddenly, the sound of echoed steps sounded behind him. The girl had found the stairs and Zeke wasn't going as fast as he'd like. He ragged breath was already making enough noise. Step after step he climbed. The distance between the two slowly shrank. Around and around he went. He was going to be caught before he made it to the top floor.

Risking getting caught, Zeke picked up his pace. Up and up, around and around. Finally, he made in to the top floor, the person behind him not far behind. Zeke quickly ducked through a gray/blue door and started following the map Darien had sent him. He went through door after door, through the labyrinth of rooms. After a while the floors started to become earthly. Almost as if they'd been tilled recently, then trodden over.

After opening a door, he found his first mob. He'd expected more before now, but the floor had probably been picked clean by other players. The tree that sat in the middle of the room, illuminated by the faint blue glow, was normal until Zeke got about ten feet away from it. The second the willow lashed out at him and Zeke drew his sword. The red blade was easily pulled from the sheath, but Zeke's new sword was a little longer than he was used to. The tip of the blade got caught in the leather and Zeke was hit in the stomach by a willow branch.

_*cough*_ Zeke sprayed blood from his mouth and his health dropped. Zeke finally freed his new sword and stood up. "Is that the best your lame ass branches got," he called out to the face on the trunk. His voice sounded louder than usual and he cringed at the volume.

Pulling up the hand-and-a-half sword, he assumed an offensive stance and charged. Willow thing swung one of it's heavy branches at him. Zeke deflected the branch off of his forearm and activated a sword skill. The red blade glowed a bright green. It was a skill called 'Fierce Defense'. Basically, forgoes all defense for offence _as_ your defense. slashed at the base of the tree. The crack of snapping wood reverberated through the room and the ent burst into a bunch of sparkles.

"My gosh. I've stumbled across the most powerful player in the whole game!" The girl who'd been chasing after him was now in the room. Zeke closed his results page without looking at it, but saw he got some item.

"Why'd you come here? It's dangerous up here. The boss's room up ahead." Zeke sheathed his red blade and saw the girl had no weapon, but some funny-looking gauntlets. Zeke turned on her and walked out of the room and, surprisingly, found a few dozen players laying on the ground, sweating and panting. Darien was standing near the large stone door; The Boss Room.

"Ah," he said spotting Zeke. "The Blades of Alliance is all here. Let's go and kill this thing and beat this game!"

"Uh, you know there are a hundred floors in the game, right?" It was a fatty who was eating a bag of chips.

"Shut up, Tildin! I know that!" Darien calmed himself and looked back at Zeke. "Nice coat." (Batman) Turning, Darien opened the large doors and they all walked through the door. Zeke tried to find Amelia, but couldn't see her. Surely she had to be here. They wouldn't have started this boss raid without her.

Zeke wanted to look more, but the center of the room exploded and a real Ent appeared in a shower of dirt...

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**Sorry to leave you on a cliff hanger. I decided to add in some things, but I promise the next chapter will have some better stuff. Yeah. I mean, the story is pretty good as it is, but it's getting better. I'll post some pictures on the +Google site or on mine. My +Google page is BurgerofCheese15 . Check it out later. LowePlays, signing out.**


	12. Fighting a Tree

**Yo. Here's your chapter. It's just... so sad. I had to kill a character. They become so real once you write about the character and then, when they die, it's like a bunch of words just die! You know? (joke) Anyways. I hope you like this chapter. Of course Zeke turns out to be a badass.**

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Zeke tried to find Amelia, but couldn't see her. Surely she had to be here. They wouldn't have started this boss raid without her.

Zeke wanted to look more, but the center of the room exploded and a real Ent appeared in a shower of dirt. Arboth the Akon was probably called that because of copyright. Zeke drew his blade and watched the branches that flung around from it's back.

"Every man for himself!" "Hit it 'til it dies!" "Hamburgers are on me after this!" Every other player just rushed the Ent and most were brushed aside. A few did manage to get a few hits in. One of them was Kain. He was just smashing away at it with his extreme speed.

Zeke stood back, observing the boss's attack patterns. Seeing a gap in his defense every time he swung at another player with his living branches. He charge forward with another Fierce Defense. He made it close to the tree before the Akon noticed him. It swung at him and Zeke feigned right. The tree obviously had termites in his brain, because Zeke obviously feigned. The Tree of Stupidity slammed down beside him, but Zeke suddenly realized his mistake a second too late.

_*smack*_

The Akon used his arm to smack Zeke across the face and sailed into the crowd, crashing into Amelia.

"Hey. I make it in time?" He grinned up at her, even though she was behind him. It took him a moment to realizing why her face was red. "Oh, uh... My bad?" Amelia kicked Zeke in the head and hugged her legs to her chest.

"Wow. That was quite a show. Can we get back to fighting a Boss?" Kain had wandered over and saw the whole thing. Or more like chased after him.

"I- it was an accident," Zeke said, holding his head. "You saw what happened."

"Yeah. So? Let's go kill this thing." A player flew past them. Kain held out his left hand and helped Zeke up. "Time to see how good you are. By the way, I'll be honored to join your Clan." Zeke quickly withdrew his hand. Kain laughed and showed his empty palms. Then he vanished, attacking the Ent again.

"C'mon, Amelia. Let's get it. Use the others as distractions and attack it. Okay?" Amelia nodded and pulled back an arrow. Oh, yeah. She can attack from long range. But something was up with this arrow. Amelia let if fly and Zeke saw that it was a normal arrow, no flames, no skill. Just an arrow.

Zeke ran forward and activated a skill called 'Plus Speed'. Then, he activated the sword skill 'Adamant Strike'. The Dragons Blood glowed a light blue as Zeke's speed increase three fold. The Akon didn't realized he was coming up on it until the blood-red blade and the ivy-green blade passed through it's back.

"Combo?" Kain was there by him for a second before running off again. Zeke stopped for a second. Just a second and he wondered why the Ent wasn't attacking him. Time slowed down. He turned and he saw Amelia in the thrashing vines. Amelia struggled against the branches but nothing worked. The Akon fended off the other players as he grew a long, sharp branch from his wrist. Zeke saw what was happening and started into a run, four or five meters away. The beast raised it's hand. The meters closed.

Closer...

Closer...

Zeke jumped into the air above the Akon. The wrist-spike became closer. Amelia caught his eye and nodded, then closed her eyes to accept her fate. Then, it was too late. The spike impaled her. Her health dropped to zero and she burst into blue pixels. Her bow dropped to the ground and a few of her arrows shattered into pixels with her.

Zeke smashed into the Akon with tears blurring his vision. The reverberation of the strike forced his goggles down to his eyes and hid his face from the rest of them. Why? Why did she have to die? They hadn't even started dating.

His anger started over powered his grief and his body grew warmer and a red aura surrounded him.

"AAGGGHH!" He rushed forward and his blade glowed an orange color. Taking a zig-zag line, he advanced on the Akon, it's branches lashing at him. As soon as he was close, he pushed an orange-haired player out of the way and slashed the wooden body.

"Hey," the orange-haired guy said. "Leave some for the rest of us." He was carrying a battleaxe, like a newbie. Power isn't always everything. Zeke was about to yell at him when he was batted aside by a branch. He and the ginger hit the earthen wall of the dungeon. Zeke's health dropped down to 38% of capacity. He saw, in his dazed state that the Ent's health was into the red. It's branches seemed to have multiplied because it looked as if there were a hundred limbs waving around.

"You need a moment," someone asked. "You take the time ya need. We'll keep 'im off ya." Zeke stood up and picked back up his blade. This Tree is going to pay for what he's done. His red aura regained it's strength and he ground his teeth, taking a vial out of his inventory. He downed it in two gulps and dropped the glass bottle. The other players, now around two dozen, were forced only to defend. Only Kain and a purely black-clad man. The others were collapsed around the walls.

"Alright. Let's do this." Zeke spoke aloud, but only to himself. He activated his most recent skill. Holding his blade straight up, vertical, a blackness enveloped the red until the entire sword was black. He didn't even know what it did. As a side thought, he also activated the enchantment set in the hilt. Flames ran along the sharpened edge. He felt tired and spent, but he recklessly charged. One or two of the flailing weapons struck him, but he didn't let the pain through; he already had enough in his chest.

The instant after the blade pasted through the tree, the bark it was made of burst into fire. The last of the health it had drained away as it ran in circles. And then, it was done. The entire being was suddenly lit up by a light brighter than the flames. Cracks appeared and then it was gone, nothing more than a few blue stars. At least, that's what Zeke thought they were as he collapsed to his knees.

_Congragulations! You can now teleport to the town of Tentus on the second floor._

_Results:_

_EXP: 1500_

_Gil: 5000_

_Item: Akon Wood_

_Last Attack Bonus: Eye of the Akon_

_Level Up!_

Zeke was tired. He was angry. He was grievous. He didn't want any of this. He wished it was only a dream. Amelia was gone and she wasn't coming back. He felt tears running down his face and blinked them away. He reached up to wipe them, but was blocked by his helmet. He moved the goggles up and into his hair and wiped the hot, salty liquid away, some finding his gasping mouth.

He opened his eyes. The difference was strange. The red tint was missing, like his vision had turned black and white. He hadn't noticed the vision difference but it was visible now. He closed the results page and wiped away more tears, sniffling.

"Are you alright, man?" Kain was now next to him. Though he didn't know him that well, he was his only friend. And his only clan mate. Zeke shook his head and choked on his tears. He missed his brown-haired companion. "Want a Cheeseburger? That one guy is offering to give everyone either or. Your choice."

"I don't want any food. I want to go home. I want Amelia. I want the damn game to end!" Zeke's voice was rising above the tears quickly. Kain simply nodded and pulled out two crystals, after conveniently bumping into another player.

"Let's go home," he said. He held out the crystals and tapped them, setting a destination, and tossed one to Zeke, who barely caught it. The same blue enveloped them both and they disappeared from the boss room...

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**Okay. That was a good chapter. I'm sorry Amelia! You came too soon, too early to be good. I know this chapter was short, but I only wanted to get the boss fight in this chapter. I do hope you're not mad at me or anything, but Amelia just didn't grow on me. Leave feedback, comments, and suggestions. LowePlays, signing out.**


	13. Dealing with Heart Breaks

**What's up, my Players! I have the next chapter for you. I'm sorry I haven't been posting for a while. I have Finals and, also, I've been doing some other stuff. It's been quite a lot happening recently. I am moving and, those who have, know that it takes a ton of work. But, enough of that. Read on and enjoy.**

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"Let's go home," he said. He held out the crystals and tapped them, setting a destination, and tossed one to Zeke, who barely caught it. The same blue enveloped them both and they disappeared from the boss room.

The wall of bright blue faded to reveal a house. He didn't recognize it.

"I welcome you to my humble abode," Kain said. The hut was a two room home with a thatch roof. The young man in green walked forward and opened the door with a press with his palm. "C'mon. I have Cambile tea. It's good and you probably want something to drink." Zeke nodded and followed, but he didn't pay any attention. He allowed Kain to sit him down in a shabby wooden chair and press a plain tea cup with steaming brown liquid.

He just saw Amelia closing her eyes. He saw the wooden spike impale her, emerging from her back. He saw her body shimmer and explode in slow motion over and over again. He sat there for a long time. For how long, he didn't know. His tea grew cold and Kain went to the other room. And he just sat there in his chair with tears streaming down his face.

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The sky was dark and stary when Zeke came back to his senses. It was because he had dropped his tea on himself. The cold dumped down his legs and his pants were soaked. As soon as he felt it, his mind cleared from the fog.

Opening his menu, he retrieved a cloth and he tried to undo the damage and soak up the liquid. He looked around for Kain, but he was no where in sight. He was snoring in the other room. Zeke thought about the rest of the fight with Arboth and couldn't remember bringing his sword. Zeke reached behind him and found the leather-wrapped handle of his blade. He also felt his blood-red overcoat with it's pressed scale pattern.

He sighed. He felt a numbness in his legs, along with a tingle. This was going to hurt. Zeke stood stiffly and took an uneven step. His legs, he couldn't even feel them, except for the tingling. He took another step, looking at the dark room he was in. It was small and only had a sink, a cupboard, and a few other kitchen ware.

The tingles in his legs were starting to drown away the numbness as blood flooded his dead legs. He had to sit down to keep it from hurting but it wasn't getting any better. Zeke ground his teeth as he pressed through the pain.

It took three minutes for all the pain to subside. Zeke felt tired and empty. His chest hurt and his lap was cold from his tea. Why was he still here? Why was the sky still clear? Why were the stars still shining? The world should be dark and quiet, not bright and idiots yelling and laughing. Why were they celebrating?

His red jacket brushed over the table as he moved across the kitchen. He didn't want to stay here or listen to them anymore. Zeke grabbed a large rag before dropping it back on the table. He could easily steal a bag that was fifty times better than a stupid rag. But first...

Wait, why was he trying to search for a bag? He didn't need one. He had a built-in inventory. This wasn't one of those other games. What had he been thinking, remembering his old games. At least he didn't have to think of Amelia...

As he thought those words, tears started to form in his eyes again. Why? He brushed his sleeve across his eyes. Why did he have to think of her now? He just stopped thinking of her! He heard a rustle from the next room over and stifled his sniffing. He didn't want to see Kain. He grabbed a loaf of bread from the table and dashed to the door. The handle turned easily, but when Zeke pulled on the lever, the door was stuck and the noise was loud as the wooden door's catch hit the frame. The reverberations of impact rang through the small hut.

_Dammit!_

Kain walked through the other door, yawning in his brown pajamas.

"What are you doing- doing up at this hour?" His green hair was tousled from sleep. "You're not planning on leaving, are you?" He yawned again.

"I can't stay here. I'm leaving to train elsewhere. I'm going to kill them all. I won't be beaten by any boss, nor will I let any of my team members die on my watch. And I will beat this game!" Zeke put his hand on his blade, planning on destroying the door. Only Kain's arm stopped him, as if he'd read his mind.

"Do you know how expensive this house is? I'd rather not pay to repair it." Kain laughed a little. "Even my skills wouldn't pay for it for two weeks." Kain looked strange, now that Zeke was looking at him. His dark green coat and face mask was gone and his didn't have his hairband. His boots were also missing, looking like his feet were half-sized in a night. "No, you can't leave yet. You don't... Well, I don't know what you'll do."

"You can't keep me here. Just unlock the door if you want it to be in one piece when I pass through it." Zeke tried to put on an intimidating face as he moved his goggles down over his eyes. But there was a stream of liquid started flowing from his nose. Not blood, just... stuff.

"Do you need a rag," Kain asked, swiping the rag Zeke had taken off the table. "Because I'm not letting you out until morning and you're not demolishing my home. It was very expensive." Kain yawned again. His arm that covered his mouth brushed a large lock of hair off his face and, just for a second, revealed a scar. His hairband usually covered it. It was a ragged scar that covered his temple. Shock spread over Zeke's face.

"How... How are you... still alive?" Zeke saw that the round, jagged scar marked the most vulnerable spot on the skull. If it was a mark by trauma, how was he still alive?

"Oh... You noticed..." Kain tried to hide it. "Well... If you want to know, I won't tell you what it is. But I will tell you it's from my Real Life. So don't pry." Zeke saw his eyes cloud over with thoughts. He was like Zeke. They had both lost someone. That someone was dear...

"I'm sorry. But I still want to leave. I'll leave you to deal with your own problems, but I need to deal with my own problems. I have no intentions of dying, but I don't want anyone to bother me. I just want to go back to my own world..." Kain didn't move. He made no intentions to unlock the door, at least. He did walk away and entered his own room and slammed the door. "Well, screw you too!"

Zeke looked around the room, as if he was a burglar. The doors, the ceiling vents, the non-existent cellar doors. No escape... Wait, window! Zeke rushed/sneaked over to the window and tried to open it. There was no catch to keep it in place, but there was also no hinges.

_Shiitake Mushrooms!_

Wait... The seal around the edge... It was a cheap rubber or something seal, like on buses! Zeke lowered his shoulder and rammed the pane.

SMACK!

It didn't budge and Zeke stumbled away with scaled glove on his shoulder. His anger rose up as he barred his teeth and prepared his other shoulder for ramming. The results was again the same. Gah-hah! The pain was worse, now that he'd used almost all his strength, plus he used his off-shoulder.

"Ya stupid window! _Fus RoDah!" _... Nothing happened. That was from a different game! Why was he being so stupid? And why was he using his elbows instead of his sword!? Taking his own advice, Zeke drew his blade. He started to used the edge to slice away at the circle's seal.

"What are you doing? Didn't I tell you not to destroy my house?" Kain had come back in to the room. "I'm going to have to ask you to give me the money to repair the damage."

"Quit being such a gentleman, since you're not, and let me just leave. I'll leave your house without breaking much else." Zeke raised his blade to point it at Kain, but the green-hair man turned away. "Hey! I'm not done threatening you!"

"Calm down," the thief said, hardly looking back. He reached into his inventory via menu and took out the thinnest knife Zeke had ever seen. Kain fiddled around with the lock and the door swung open. "Now you can leave. I've had enough trying to be nice to an ungrateful brat like you."

"Fine," Zeke growled as he walked over the threshold. "I'll see you later."

"Have a nice trip, ya bastard." Kain slammed the door behind him. The moment Zeke heard the sound of a click, he burst out into a sprint, running through the town that had a name he didn't know. The wind ran through his hair, causing his coat to flap in the moving air, and cooling down his rage-heated skin. At least he didn't have to think...

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***Stretch* Finally. It's done. You probably know how long it's taken me to write this... Okay, some of the time I've been playing Skyrim recently. You can't blame... Fine! I bought a new toy and had to play with it. I'm really sorry I haven't been writing for you guys. I hope this chapter helps, but I know you'll never truly forgive me for it. LowePlays, signing out.**


	14. The Blood Red Dragon Swordsman

**Hello, my lovely players. I have your anticipated chapter ready for you to read, so gobble this writing up! I spent a lovely arfternoon on a warm Sunday after a nice time in a pool, so I'm pretty sure it's amazing. Maybe. I may be a little over-confident in my abilities, but I think it's better than the last one. Emotional parts? Ugh. I don't enjoy writing those points, as you might see. Sorry it's a little late, but final touches... But enough rambling on about bollocks. Read on!**

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The street of this town were different than any Zeke had seen so far. The steampunk style of the second floor was strange. Zeke never really had a taste for steampunk, so he didn't really enjoy the noise of released steam or the clang of machinery. All the NPCs, strangely all of them, had monocles and a hat. Some were top hats, others were hairbands. All stretched between and all had some piece of clockwork brass and bronze in it. Even worse was the smell. The stench of burnt oil and grease was everywhere on the second floor. It was hardly a distant guess that the boss of the floor was some sort of steampunk monstrosity.

Against the gleaming yellow-ish gold of the cities, Zeke's flowing red scale coat stood out like a sore thumb. He kinda looked like one too. The red coat streaked by the buildings as Zeke ran through the shining city. The past few days had been a little wild, with all the Frontliners and the cowards fighting. The Frontline players (most) wanted the cowards back in floor one to start fighting up top with the rest of them. Zeke fully agreed, only he didn't get involved. He'd rather be on his own, nothing held back. He just had to beat the game. Even if he died trying...

But it's not like he wanted to die. Who would? Those who commit suicide, he believed, didn't want to die, but escape. Zeke did not want to escape his life. He already had and it cost him his heart. He could remember how he used to joke around in the starting town and laugh with Amelia. Now... Nothing. No rush of pleasure from the wind in his face, no smiles. He hardly felt anything anymore. The worst part was that he didn't miss it.

No one in either side really remembered the date. Only if you looked could anyone see the time. People still died. Zeke didn't really care anymore. As if he'd kept track. He didn't plan on having anyone die with him, so he didn't team up exactly. Only monsters and attackers died with him. It was better this way.

He was headed to the out-lying caves of the town. Gone were the open fields and the sunshine, replaced with caves and underground cities of brass and bronze. His sword never left his back, even when people and NPCs asked his to remove his effects. It didn't matter anyways, as he was currently on a mission for the Miners Guild of the town. He needed a little extra coin. The miners were no fighters and they couldn't harvest any bone materials, nor any hides. Bones and leather played part just as big as brass and bronze. That is the mission he was offered...

* * *

"Hello, young traveler! Would you mind helping out a few old miners like us?" It was a stout, bearded man with a pickaxe who spoke. Zeke had happened to be in the tavern to get a drink. Luckily nobody got drunk from tavern-offered drink. You just had to convince the bar tender, as Zeke found out the day he got up to this floor.

"No, I'm fine. I don't really enjoy mining that much." Zeke paused by their table non-the-less.

"Well, it's not the kind of Mining you're thinking of. We need some drops from some Spiders and stuff and we can't fight too well. You get the drift?" Zeke nodded and, before he knew it, he'd accepted the mission to retrieve Spider Plates, Dead Man Bones, and The Hides of a Sabre Cat. All to be found in the caves, the wilderness of the second floor.

* * *

It really wasn't that much of a surprise. Not very many monsters could be found inside towns and cities. Angry pigeons, shop vendors you've stolen from, stray cats, ect. Heading into the caves wasn't so bad. Until Zeke reached them. He first realized his mistake when he found he couldn't see very well. No torch, no lighting spells. Nothing. No light was equipped. Zeke didn't have a clue where he was stepping. He immediately stepped back into the light of shining brass and opened his inventory. He had a spell just for this and he wanted to test it.

Zeke opened his palm and a light was there. It was the spell called Candle. Now he was prepared. Zeke raised his hand sharply and released the floating light. It stayed above his head and drifted along with him. He wrapped his fingers over the leather-bound hilt behind him and drew the weighted blade. It was comfortable there. Soon, Zeke was immersed in a cocoon of darkness, the only light inside the shell, as he wandered into the maze of caverns...

* * *

_*CLANG*_

Zeke finished an elaborate stroke against the Plated Spider. The armor encasing it was hard, almost too hard to breach. But not for Zeke's Dragon's Blood sword cleaved a foot deep gash into it's back. The monster dropped but didn't vanish, almost sensing his mission in his quest log. Which it was. Zeke knelt down and ripped two or three 1" thick plates from it's back before it shattered into pixels.

_Congratulations!_

_Gil: 342_

_EXP: 400_

_Item: Spider Venom_

Zeke hated spiders. Why did it always have to be spiders? He put the silvery metal into his inventory and left the cavern he was in, to search for a Hide of a Sabre Cat or dead mens' bones. Whatever came first. It felt better to fight than to think. To think of her. Of what happened on that day.

But Zeke was starting to get his mind back from fight mode. He was walking like normal but he didn't really know where he was going. He was already thinking back to what happened a week ago. He hardly noticed that a skeleton was standing in his path. He only really saw it when an arrow shot him in the shoulder and his health dropped by a quarter. The reduce pain was what shook him from his thoughts.

The red blade in his hands glowed a bright blue as he activated a sword skill. The spin from the skill cut the cluster of bones as he jumped at it. The bottom of skeleton exploded into pixels as the top half crawled towards Zeke's blade. He held a stone expression as he stabbed the tip through the bone of it's skull. The rest of the body of bones shattered and turned to pixels. Well, most of it. There were a few bones left.

_The Bones of a Dead Man..._

Zeke picked up a few of the fallen bones and put them in his inventory. Two out of the three down...

* * *

The Sabre Cat was more of a challenge to find. He had to travel deep into the maze of caverns. The built-in map was explored all around the first town and a few caves he'd been through. The cavern Zeke was wandering down had a long distance separating the town and him, the longest yet. He'd probably gone the farthest down this way. Probably the only one.

If he explored enough, this map could sell for a pretty coin. Although, the one who finds the boss room will probably earn a couple thousand off that map. That's the whole point. And the want to find the next boss is at an all time high since the defeat of Akon. There was also a want for the Blood-Red Dragon Swordsman, who defeated the boss. There was also the legend that he'd done it himself. Rumors were always twisted when passed from one air-head to another.

The dark of the caverns were only touched by the Candle spell occasionally, sometimes confusing him and letting him run into walls. But that only happened once!

The light did often flicker now, as his magic dropped. The spell had to feed off of something. The bar of mana he had was dropping, it seemed, faster and faster. It now sat at around an eighth of capacity and still fell lower. Zeke had to find that cat soon or he'd run out of magic. He didn't really spend much time with magic so his skill wasn't very high.

He still thought of Amelia. He could never forget her. The pain only really went away when he was fighting, but it always found him. His sleep hadn't exactly been sunshine and candy. Usually he woke up with his face lying against a wet pillow. Some nights he didn't even go to the Inns. Instead he hunted on the lower floor, bathed in moonlight.

He was walking down a corridor of smooth, black stone when a feral growl sounded behind him. Zeke whirled around. His light drooped and flickered. The walls of darkness closed in.

_I need more light, _Zeke thought. His mana would run out if he burned up too much, but he couldn't fight a cat if the light only showed him the cat when it was on top of him. He had to risk it. After all, that was how this game worked, right. Risk.

The borders of the darkness started to recede as Zeke willed his remaining mana into fueling the spell. The light expanded to five meters all around, revealing the walls, ceiling, and floor. At the boundary, movement caught Zeke's eye. It was only there for a moment, but he got a clear image of what it looked like.

It was a pure white leopard, like a snow leopard, and it's fangs over hung it's jaw. They glinted strangely in the light. It's yellow eyes had squinted in the bright light above Zeke's head. It retreated quickly into the darkness to escape the harsh glare of the light. On the off-hand, Zeke's mana was dropping quickly. He released the magic to a point where it weakly glowed. He didn't have much time left.

"Alright, you coward! Come out and fight." His voice was louder than he meant. It's sound reverberated off the smooth walls and multiplied several times. It was like he shouted. The feral growl sounded and he turned towards it. It sounded like it was next to him and behind him.

_Please not two, _he asked God. He willed the light to expand. Then, he ran at the sound. The light engulfed the cat faster than it could react and it tried to shield it's eyes. That moment, it knew. It had messed up. The red blade glowed a brighter red and crashed into the cat. It hissed at Zeke, but he wasn't done. An instant later the blade withdrew and and uppercut sliced into the cat's front legs.

The beautiful predator fell and Zeke pulled his blade out. He noticed that it's fangs were blades and had sunken into the stone. The usual pixel gashes were left on the hide, but a knife for skinning appeared in his hand. It wasn't his but Zeke still proceeded to cut into the animal. The skin was easily removed and the smell that usually accompanied blood was absent. Still the sight of a half-skinned, half pixelated brought bile to his mouth. He retched behind him, but nothing came out. Game logic.

When the game decided he'd had enough, the Leopard vanished with a poof and pixels. He double tapped the skins he had and the menu dropped down. He selected the option to put the fur into his inventory. Then he closed his battle results. The glow of a level up surrounded him and, for a second, he could see the cave. At the end, he glimpsed a large set of brass steampunk doors. The rose to about two meters tall and half as wide. And he knew what they were.

It was the Boss Room. He was the one who found it. Then, the glow vanished and the cave darkened. After a few seconds, his spell flickered and vanished, bathing him in darkness...

* * *

**GUYS! I'm so happy! I'm free! I finished my finals! I have a cool theme song right now and it's called 'Keep your Weapons Aimed'. It goes so well with my mood, this upbeat song. But all that is important is this: I'M FREE!**

**Leave any comments or reviews or any suggestions below. If you need to discuss something, feel free to PM me or message me on my Google account.**

** But now my pillow calls for me. I must heed her sweet tones. LowePlays, signing out!**


	15. You Can't Beat the Dragon

**Hello, my Players! Here is my fifteenth chapter of Blades of Alliance. Now, who actually believed it would get this long? Well, I _did _but I thought it'd be a while from now. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it is surprising. **

**Also, the Blades of Alliance still exists, but there is only one member. Zeke. That's changing in this chapter. No more spoilers!**

**Read on and enjoy.**

* * *

The moment Zeke's light vanished, he calmly opened his menu. No light shone on it, nor did any light come from it, but he could see the menu perfectly. He removed his last unset crystal and set it here. He'd be coming back here. Once the process was complete, he retrieved his Town Teleport Crystal.

Off to his right there was another growl and a set of glowering eyes. He didn't have long. He opened the menu of the item by double tapping and hit the second item, 'Hollwyrd', the Steampunk town. The crystal shattered and the glow that accompanied teleports enveloped him as he closed his eyes...

* * *

The fat, bearded miners paid Zeke handsomely with two thousand Gil and just as much EXP. Plus, they paid his tab at the bar. The first man, who Zeke found out was named Cid, hinted at asking for his help again in the future. Hopefully it wasn't the same quest, because he was definitely bringing torches next time he went through those horrid tunnels. If he could help it, the next time he was going in there alone was when he face the boss it that room.

Wait, he'd discovered that room. He held the most wanted map in the game. An evil glint passed over his eyes. How much money this map would bring him. Deciding what he would do, he left the miner Cid while he was talking and exited the bar after taking the last sip of his drink. The grape-like taste filled his mouth as the glass vanished as soon as it was empty. Cid kept talking, but NPCs don't get angry if you leave them mid sentence. The door opened with a push of his scaled glove and the noise of familiar machinery met his ears. Now to find a buyer.

How does one sell his map publicly? The auction houses? Did those exist in this game? Bulletin boards? Yeah, that could always work. Opening the menu was a set method that was natural to most players by now. Zeke grabbed the menu and pulled it out, going to his communications tab. There was always a chat room open to everyone and that was the bulletin board.

_'I have found the boss room. First buying price for the location is three thousand Gil.'_

Zeke pressed the enter key and the keyboard disappeared and his message was posted with the name MetalDargon by it. He'd probably get a hundred responses by the end of the hour. Oh, the money! If his past saw him now, He'd probably slap himself, but now he was changed. Maybe if someone was there with him, maybe he wouldn't be acting so weirdly. He just didn't know it.

* * *

By the end of the hour, only three people messaged him back, most saying they were willing to pay the three thousand. Zeke had hoped for more, but if that's all people were willing to pay...

No. Just a while longer. Waiting usually was the answer. After a while, he'd accept someone's payment. If anyone set a higher price, he would accept their...

He had a new message and it was from Kain. Zeke opened it hesitantly. He'd been afraid of his old friend. The way he'd left him didn't make him feel very good and he tried to forget everything that happened that day. The message read;

_Hey Zeke._

_Just what the hell are you doing, selling your map to just anyone? Seriously. Take down that post before you're killed. I'm not kidding around. Because there _are_ people out to get the MetalDargon, the Blood-Red Dragon Swordsman. _

_\- Kain_

_PS: They are not with me._

Okay. That was dark and foreboding. But it was strange, Kain's PS message. 'They are not with me...' What could that mean? Zeke thought about this stuff as he examined armor and other merchandise in the market. Truthfully, he didn't remember coming to the market but his subconsciousness must have had a plan, so he started examining the items for sale.

His arm guards from the first floor were out dated by a long shot and his pants were low on durability. The grey linen was starting to fray around the edges. Twice he swore there was someone watching him. His fingers itched to have his blade in his palm, but the NPCs always got fussy and agitated when they saw the red sword drawn. He wouldn't get any business done.

Deciding on a pair of burnt orange leather guards with two metal claws protruding from them, Zeke handed over twelve hundred Gil. As he made the transaction, movement caught his eye. He put the arm guards in his inventory and turned around just to get a blue mace to the face. The sheer force of the blow knocked him through the wooden stall behind him and into the brass and bronze walls.

Steam billowed around him through broken pipes. A jagged bit of bronze impaled his leg, trapping Zeke to the wall, since he valued his leg today. His health had dropped by a whole third and steadily drained from his leg wound. The pain wasn't so bad, but it still hurt. The thug that had hit him was slowly advancing, seeing his prey bound to the piping of the city.

He was going to die if he didn't get his maneuverability back. Gritting his teeth, Zeke tugged at his leg. Bright red blood gushed from his leg and the health bar took a major hit.

_1438/2450 Health_

_-215_

His leg wasn't free and the attacker smugly grinned. Zeke had no intentions of dying today. He drew his blade and drove the sharpened point into the wall as if it was butter. The Mace Man wasn't smiling now. He quickened his gloating pace, but he was still four meters away. The red blade sliced down and the jagged edge went with him, still embedded in his thigh. His pants would definitely not enjoy this.

Though Zeke still bled from the wound, he readied the blade. He would not die to some mercenary in weak armor and a cape. The distance closed and Zeke moved his injured leg forward and almost fell. Not from pain, but from his weakness. The Mace Man saw his opponent falter and took advantage, swinging at Zeke's unprotected goggles.

_*CLANG*_

The red blade was suddenly there. Zeke's eyes flashed an angry red.

"No one touches my goggles," he growled. With a flick of his blade, the mace flew upwards and Zeke made a spin on his good leg. The whirling blade hit only fabric as the Mace Man step sided.

"Well, now someone has!" The mace descended in an arc aimed, again, at Zeke's lowered head. Although he dodged the bulk of the blue metal, the sharp blade caught the leather strap of his goggles and they fell from his forehead. They fell to the concrete of the street and shattered.

"You," Zeke growled with a primal rage. "You have broken my goggles. Now I shall end you!" He activated the Skill Offensive Defense and his blade glowed an orange hue and he attacked the thug, breaker of his goggles. He ran around the Mace Wielder in a circle at an alarming speed and the attacks he left dropped the health of the man drastically, who was desperately trying to block the blade's strikes.

Zeke suddenly stopped and lept up into the air above his foe. For the first time since the boss fight, he activated the gem in the hilt. Flames spilled over the red blade as it crashed down on the mercenary's skull. The man shuddered and spluttered in disbelief before dying in a bunch of red pixels.

_Congratulations!_

_EXP: 1500_

_Gil: 852_

_Items: Cotton Cape  
Mace of Destruction  
Potion of Minor Health (x12)  
Teleport Crystal (Starting City)(x2)  
Armor of Epic Protection from Ice  
Pants of More Protection from Poison  
Sweet Looking Boots  
Linen Gloves (Blue)_

Man, this guy had a lame naming instinct. 'Epic Protection'? This was definitely all being sold. But Zeke still had life draining from the wound in his leg.

_398/2450 Health_

_-205/minute_

If he didn't get the metal from his leg, Zeke would die in a minute. He opened his menu and retrieved one of the twelve health potions and drank it. The rate of Health lost was combated with the regeneration of the potion. This could get messy...

Zeke called upon his courage and tugged on the metal from behind his leg. Nothing. At least, nothing good. His health dropped by a bit and he was getting dangerously low. The jaggedness had barbed his muscle and waves of pain resonated from that point. He'd have to pull it from the front. This was bad. His health dropped about four points a second and it was at 237. He'd have to do it fast.

Feeling dizzy, he sat down and breathed deeply. Now or never... Zeke unequipped his gauntlets and dug his hand into the wound. More slippery blood gushed out. More life lost. Once he had a grip on the metal in his leg, he jerked upwards.

His hand slipped halfway up and he cut two of his fingers off. Dammit! He grabbed the metal with both of his hands and pulled. The metal came free with a spray of blood and the leg wound started to close. He was so tired and dizzy. He felt like he'd run a marathon on his arms. His health was at _53/2450 _and he felt cold, tired, and scared. His health was slowly regenerating.

Still, he raised his hand and pulled out his menu. He was shaking, but he opened up to his map posting and removed it. He knew he was close to death but he still stayed awake. All those movies told him he had to stay awake or be lost to the void. He let out a meek laugh and sat there in the ruins of a stall that used to sell armor. The shop keeper NPC rushed around and picked up his merchandise with a calm look on his face, as if this happened ever week.

This game was home to the teenager, who lay half dead, starting at the wooden roof above him...

* * *

In the real world, the boy lay in a white room with a helmet over his face and a crowd of worried faces worked busily around him, trying to keep the dying kid alive his heart was missing beats and his body was constantly shaking. His mother and sister were there, crying at his side. His father was standing against the wall and kept his hat over his eyes.

Their son and brother had been trapped in the death game called 'Alpha Blades Online' and was part of the surviving faction so far. The game had consumed over a thousand to feed... what? The amusement of Adament, the developers who had created the game? What good came of their deaths. Doctors worked quickly and desperately as the boy started to slip into death's cold embrace.

The noise and activity that room was frantic and Zeke was oblivious to it all, just lying on the bed. His mother babbled on about her son and stroked his face and arm, his hair trapped under the cold hood. His sister tried several times to climb onto her brother's chest and lay there and cry, but doctors stopped her. They had scanned his body recently and found several veins and blood vessels in his leg had burst. The cause was self-induced and was from the boy's irregular blood pressure through those blood tubes. Currently, his left leg lay cut open to prevent internal hemorrhaging.

An hour ago, the teen under the metal helmet had started coughing and puking out of nowhere and the doctors had contacted his parents. Bleach and cleaning supplies sat aside the bustling crowd and the smell filled everyone's nose. The doctors had originally assumed he was waking up, but now they saw it was him starting to fade from life. The beeping from one of the monitors started to suddenly stop every two seconds and the two girls cried harder and squeezed their family member as doctors injected him with something.

No one had any idea what was happening under that hood. They hadn't a month ago, nor did they know now. They had no idea what the Blood-Red Dragon Swordsman saw at all...

* * *

"C'mon. Up we go." Kain was helping the young teenager who was his friend, his only friend, to stand. He saw under the label that marked him as level thirteen that his health was dangerously low. A good bump on the head would kill his friend. He couldn't allow that to happen. The young man in the red coat stood on his own and looked up at Kain and smiled slightly. Then he retched.

Kain instinctively dodged out of the way, but there was nothing to dodge. He looked up at his friend to see him fall to the ground. He landed with a thump on the ground and dust rose from where he lay unconscious. Knowing what to do, Kain used his unnatural strength to lift the Dragon onto his shoulders. He carried the man through town and walked into the nearest Inn he could find and selflessly and willingly bought a room for his friend.

With the key he had, he admitted himself into the nicest room the Inn had to offer. He closed the door with his friend slumped over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and walked to the nice bed. Once he'd lowered his friend to the bed, the fingers he'd lost reappeared on his hand as if they'd never been missing. His health was still low but the Dragon was safe in this cave.

"You probably won't mind, but..." Kain moved his friend's hand and the menu was called out. He opened the Blades of Alliance Clan page Zeke had conveniently forgotten and added himself to the Guild. A marker appeared above his name, indicating he was part of a clan/guild/whatever, and he left the Blood-Red Dragon Swordsman sleeping on the bed...

* * *

**And now, the fifteenth and longest chapter is finished. Kain has added himself to Blades of Alliance and Zeke has barely escaped death and puked on the doctors a second time. (funny!) The fight, I hope, was pretty good and full of le detains. I've decided that, now, would be the best time to write for da moneys if I can find a job doing that so maybe the updates with slow down.**

**I'm also moving so my time is stretched thin. My options are heavily weighed and I must find balance. (Epic pose, looking to the cloudy sky)**

**I do hope you've enjoyed my story so far and hope you will continue to in the future. I have enjoyed writing for both myself and you guys. It's just that one thing I like doing for people. **


	16. Partying with the Guild

**What is up, my delightful followers of The Blades of Alliance. Seriously, if you've reached this point, you're obviously hooked on the story. I'm not trying to make it seem like I know what you're thinking or sound unprofessional. But by thirty thousand words, you obviously like the story.**

**So, Kain was a sly guy and added himself into Blades of Alliance. I mean, Zeke _did_ promise to add Kain in, but that was just some idea I came up with on the spot. Zeke almost dying, obviously in peril, but recovering. This story just gets me so excited like I'm a little kid.**

**But enough talk. Read on and enjoy!**

* * *

Zeke stirred slightly in his sleep. A bed creaked, but it sounded a ways away. With the fear of being attacked not present, Zeke almost felt scared. He groaned and drifted from his comfortable spot in his dark and warm mind. Slowly he became reacquainted with his body, feeling the tingling in his hands and legs, the thick feeling of his tongue, his pounding headache. The burning desire for food wasn't a life-threatening pain, as pain was meant to be reduced, but was a very uncomfortable gnawing in his belly.

With a snap, he opened his eyes to a bright light. A real pain lit behind his eyes as his eyes were inadequately adjusted to such light. The pain lifted somewhat when he closed his eyes. He felt like he'd been battered by a cow or mauled by a Khajiit or some other beast of the Underworld.

When Zeke decided he had adjusted enough, he opened his eyes. Light flooded in through the slit he'd opened. It was still harsh against his eyes, but he'd adjusted enough to bear the light. It wasn't sunlight that hurt his eyes, but the day light from the brass city outside. He tried to sit up, but a wave of nausea forced him down onto the fluffy mattress below him. He nearly retched, but he held it in because he knew nothing would happen.

When his nerves calmed and the sick feeling passed, Zeke attempted to sit up again. The nausea returned but he appeared to be getting better. He was able to stay upright this time, but his stomach wanted to up chuck everything he ever ate and his head swam with dizziness.

Zeke felt his sheathe belt pulled up on his coat and he wanted to stand up, stretch himself. But he was tired, he wanted to sleep. But he had to get up. He had to beat the boss on this level. And he would do it by himself. He, the Blood-Red Dragon Swordsman, would beat the boss single-handedly! First, he'd have to upgrade his blade. The Dragon's Blood had to be stronger.

To do that, he had to get up. He had such a long road ahead of him. Tossing the covers aside, Zeke lowered his shaking legs to the ground. He sucked in a shaking breathe and put pressure on his legs. His dizziness returned twofold. He dropped back onto the bed to regain his courage. Deep breathes calmed his nerves and the Dragon felt like he'd been for run. Slowly, he regained his strength to try again.

He gained enough strength after waiting in a sitting position for five minutes, at least. But he had to try again. He slipped off the bed and he stood on his feet. It was too soon for him to stand, though. His legs collapsed under him and Zeke fell on his back, this time on the hard wooden floor. His breathe rushed from his lungs and he lay there gasping. He was still weak from yesterday's fight? Or was it two days ago?

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and an alarm sounded. It was the alarm stating his room would eject him in five minutes. So why not wait? Zeke waited half-patiently. After the first thirty seconds, he started to get uncomfortable. His sword pressed into his back so he couldn't relax and a slight breeze flowed through the holes in his pants. He shifted uncomfortably as he lay there, not compelled to stand.

After five uncomfortable minutes, a final ding sounded and a teleport was initiated. The glow enveloped his body and his Inn room disappeared. For a second, he wished he had his own house, but he knew he wouldn't stay long in his abode long nor often. The light carried him for the normal time span. Then he was dumped into open air. He dropped for a second and bounced of a table. He landed hard on the metal floor of the bar area.

"Hello. Can I get you anything?" The NPC bartender thought he'd sat at the table, but Zeke was keeled over at the base.

"Shut up, you moron," he growled from the ground. Not very intimidating sight, seeing a man growling from the ground. A few of the people at the bar helped Zeke up, but he had to lean against the bar table for support. He felt so weak for some reason. And he didn't want to sleep.

"Hello. Can I get you anything?"

"Shut up, ya dwarf!" Zeke pushed off of the smooth wooden table and stood strongly. His legs said over and over for him to sit down, to get off of his shaking feet. Still, he wouldn't show weakness in front of these people while he insulted the NPC. "And now, you Chickens," he said to the gathering mass of players in the bar. "I am going to the boss room! Anyone who wants to fight, join me because this is your only chance!"

The crowds murmured and scoffed at his remark, disbelieving that this weak player had found the room everyone had been searching for. Then, near the back, two hands rose into the air. Zeke saw one hand was his old friend Kain, the other he didn't know. That was fine. Zeke would _not_ act the way he had. He needed every blade, but his also needed to be stronger.

"Very well," he called over the crowds chatting. "Three players will be coming with me to defeat the boss of the second floor! All you losers can watch the fight, if you want, but don't get in my way." Zeke walked shakily over to Kain. When he passed him, Zeke bumped his friend and sat down in the closest booth. Kain followed with the third party member of their raid.

"Are you sure you're well enough to fight? You were only in bed for a day. Most people need three or four days, when their gets that low." Kain was wearing his usual gear, only including a new head band. It made Zeke think of his goggles. He'd need to get some new ones.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just feel a little weird. Do you know where I can upgrade my sword?" Kain nodded before opening his menu. After a bit of messing around with his settings, he pushed a map in front of the Dragon. His eyes found the destination on the map and copied the coordinates. The blacksmith was about a mile away and, with Zeke in his current condition, would take a while to reach. He hid his expression and he set his marker. The marker appeared in his field of vision to be a little to his left, through the wall of the Inn.

"I'll meet up with you guys in an hour on the eastern side of town. And make sure to bring an unset crystal or two." Zeke stood up to leave, but Kain grabbed onto his sleeve.

"Don't you want to know who you're other party member is? And don't you think that three is enough to beat the boss?" Zeke glanced at the other player across the table and studied the boy's face. He looked to be around twelve or thirteen and had long, orange hair. His weapons were a dark red material, the same as Zeke's, and was in the shape of a short, curved blade.

"No. I don't want to know who he is." He ripped his sleeve away from Kain and stood up, shaky on his feet, and exited the Inn. The streets outside were bathed in a hazy mist of some kind and Zeke walked through town towards the blacksmith. The weakness in his body faded slowly and allowed him to speed up into a normal jog. Still, the vastness of the city was still the same and his tired body reached the coordinates Kain had given him. In front of him was the newest, shiniest building with the sign of an anvil over the door. Then he stepped inside.

The inside was filled with shelves and racks of weapons ranging from basic steel to Orthidite, a nearly black metal. The Orthidite weapon, as cool as it looked, was a hammer. Zeke couldn't wield it even if he tried.

"Hello? Is someone there? Can I get you anything?" An older woman than Zeke expected walked through the curtain that hung in the back.

"Um... yeah. Can I upgrade my sword with you? I need it to be stronger to beat the boss." The woman, who looked around forty, nodded and held out both hands. Zeke unequipped his sword and laid it on the counter, but kept a hand on it. "What kind of upgrades are there? I don't want my sword to look weird or anything."

"What kind of upgrades? Why come here without knowing what you're doing? I happen to be the top blacksmith in the entire game, you..." She faded off when she truly looked at Zeke. "The Blood-Red Dragon... You're real." Then she laughed.

"What's so funny? What'd I say?"

"You're the guy my daughter told me about? The one who almost was crushed by a boulder and was on the Frontlines? This is too good to be true! But what happened to your goggles? My daughter said you had goggles." Zeke grimaced at the last comment and reached up to feel the spot his goggles had been for a month straight.

"So that was your daughter... Well, I was hoping you could get me some new ones. Goggles, I mean. My last ones were broken quite recently."

"Well, there might be something I can do about that. I do happen to be a very skilled blacksmith. The best, I'll have you know!"

"Yeah, yeah! You don't have to yell." Zeke had to sit down on the floor to keep from passing out. He felt tired and, even though he felt he was recovering, he wasn't at 100 percent.

"Are you alright? Little boys shouldn't be playing a grown up game like this. The rating is 13+, y'know."

"Yeah, I saw that granny," Zeke shot back, even though she was as old as his mother. "I'm fifteen."

_I think..._

In truth, no one really remembered the date. Months and seasons were irrelevant in a game that had none.

"Well, you obviously need a sandwich!" The Smith took his sword off the table and pointed to one of the display cases. "In that display case you'll find some ingots. Select on and some glass and I'll craft you some new goggles when I finish with your sword. But it'll cost you, I'll have you know!"

"Yeah! I know! This is the second floor and I'm about to go beat a boss! I'm a Front Line Assault player! I can easily tell if something is within my budget or not." Zeke felt a little out of breath at the end of his outburst. He could easily tell that he was too loud and a little rude.

_Why don't I care? I've changed and I don't think this is right. Better to ask for forgiveness then permission, I guess..._

"I'm sorry-"

"No! No one ever apologizes to me! I'll upgrade your stupid sword and make you your goggles, but I expect you to pay up! You see, the process of upgrading the hilt is quite simple." She took a deep breathe. "First, I'll melt down a few ores into ingots. Then, I'll forge some wire and some new additions to the blade. Finally, I'll temper the hot metals. The blade will have-"

"Okay! I get the picture. I'm going to look at your selection of ingots while you work with my sword." Zeke felt his face flush as he stood and he hid his face by turning and facing the glass of the display case. He took three unsteady steps towards the case as he heard the clicking of boots disappear behind the leather curtain. He turned to see the curtain sway back and forth before looking at the case again.

Inside were stacks upon stacks of ingots. There were about fifteen different stacks, all in the colors of the rainbow. Black, blue, green, white, yellow. All were arranged with a precise hand and were organized from weakest to strongest. At one end was a dull grey ingot, while the other end had a dark ivy green. It was the same as Kain's blade. Looking at the price tag, however, dissuaded any ideas of purchasing the metal. Per ingot was over four hundred thousand and there were only two ingots.

_Bit low on supplies, huh?_

He would never be able to afford the ingots for months. Zeke turned his attention to the lower ranked metals, although still on the power move side. The next ingot was Orthidite, the near midnight ingot. There was only one ingot left, but the price was just inside his balance of just over a hundred fifty thousand. Still, blowing everything on one ingot was just irresponsible. Plus he still had to pay for the upgrade that was being undergone on his sword on the other side of the metal wall. He gave up on that ingot.

The next was much better. It was the Loria ingot from the lower level, the same as his sword. The price was about the same for the blade per ingot, so the fifty thousand wouldn't be a problem. Still, the Orthidite looked pretty tempting. The shining darkness it seemed to emanate from it's dark surface. He looked at it with indecision in his eyes.

The clack of boots on cement shook him from is reverie. He spun to face the blacksmith, who just emerged from her workshop. The black leather that contained the blood-red blade looked the same, but the sword's handle did look... different. What was it that looked strange?

_What is it that I just can't see? Better yet, how am I going to pay for everything? I just hope that I have enough..._

* * *

**So, the Dragon's Blood has been upgraded! Can anyone tell what's happened to the hilt? I'm not going to tell, but I'll reveal it in the next chapter. I will soon be telling the second boss fight in the next chapter and Zeke is starting to recover from his kummerspeck. **

**I'm also sorry about the delay in my writing. I've been doing some research in writing and I've also been rewriting this chapter a lot. My sister read this story and she, LoweFantasy, said that Zeke's head is full of rocks. He doesn't really think too often. I've tried to fix that and the next chapter will have more thoughts.**

**But I've just been rambling. Until next time! LowePlays, signing out!**


	17. Just Awake

**Wai... What? The next chapter is here? I thought this story had been canceled? That Mr. Lowe had given up on it.**

**Well, you're wrong. He's back. After a not-very-kind reviewer incident, he turned to Blades of Alliance. That ass. The review. He was a donkey for not knowing what fan fiction was. **

**Well, I'm just glad he posted this chapter. How long has it been? Two months?**

**LowePlays: Guys, I'm so sorry. I just didn't know where to start. After this brilliant, yet very mean "fan" wrote me, saying I sucked, I finally got it off the ground again. I can start writing, but my style might have changed Zeke a bit. Two months without him has made me forget his personality a bit. There really is no excuse for my tardiness. At least, truthful ones.**

**I will try to get more content out and I might stop the Attack of Quillian if I get too many negative comments. I am able to write only on my phone and during classes. Not good. I live in Serbia and I am trying to learn Serbian. My classes cut deeply into writing time. Curse you, school!**

**Friend of mine: But it's Cambridge! How could you not want to go?**

**Because I don't like school. Nor do you guys. Again, I'm sorry. But enough rambling! Read on!**

* * *

He was on the floor. He thought back. It felt like so long ago, coming into the weapon shop. The last thing he remembered was paying for the upgrade to Dragon's Blood and re-donning the Blade. As soon as that happened, he passed out. That was the best explanation he could give. Yet why did his head hurt so bad?

"Hey, champ." Zeke struggled to sit up from his position. His armor and sword were gone, but Kain was there, along with the new guy. Zeke couldn't remember if he knew him or not. He noticed he was back in his hotel, but not in his room. "Hold up for a minute there. I've been thinking. I remember you got into a fight, but duels are illegal inside towns. Not unless the other player accepts an invitation to either duel or death match. Did you accept the assaulter's invitation?"

"I... got into a fight?" Zeke couldn't remember. His brain was fuzzy and pounded, like how they explained hangovers. His goggles felt like they constricted him and his eyes pulsed from behind. "I don't... remember." The only thing he could remember of his fight was being impaled by a metal scrap, then cutting himself free. Kain looked at his companion.

"What do you remember, great MetalDargon?" It was the new guy who spoke. His orange hair was long and obviously dyed. His curved swords indicated he was an assassin, but his gear didn't indicate his class. He wore orange and dark red leather and cotton, definition of not an assassin. How he knew he was an assassin? Zeke had no real idea, since he couldn't remember earlier, when they were planning.

"That is a good and a stupid question. How should I know what I know and not what I don't know?" Zeke looked at his health. It was fine and he was unaffected by any stats. Why would he be feeling like this? His body felt so weird.

"Well," Kain started. "How about beating the last boss?" Zeke nodded. He remembered. Mostly. "How about joining the game?" He nodded. "How about Amelia?" Zeke hadn't heard that name in Alpha Blades Online. He shook his head. Kain's eyes widened.

"Should I know who she, or he, is? Are they important?" Zeke saw Kain thinking for a second and glanced at his hands. Then Kain looked him in the eyes.

"No. She was just someone you met once. Nothing really happened after that. No one has seen her so we assume she's dead. That's just what people get for being cocky." Zeke had felt like he knew her, but Kain's story satisfied his feelings. His words also rang true, but not everyone deserves to die.

"Do you remember my place?" Zeke had never been to Kain's house. He shook his head. Kain kept a straight face, but a muscle in his forearm jumped. "Well, you did come to my house but you were pretty tired. You had just beaten the boss with us. Do you remember your guild? Blades of Alliance?" Zeke felt like he knew it but a big chunk of his memory of it was gone. He just knew there was more, but the files were empty. He nodded but he still knew nothing about it. Kain smiled.

"Good! Because we're Guild mates!" Concussion stirred in Zeke. Kain had never joined Blades of Alliance. He had never sent him a request, nor had... who else had been in his guild?

"No you're not. You can't be. I never added you." Zeke felt anger and the realization of what had happened came to him. Kain added himself. "So you took advantage of me after I passed out to add yourself? Why?! Did you add him, too?" He gestured to the orange kid.

"Woah, man. Why are you so angry? I just helped you fulfill your promise. I didn't add Apricot because one, he had no promise or pass to join. Two, I didn't want to risk it a second time." What?

"So you added yourself, then, when you exited, you considered Apricot, but was a coward. It's just like you Kain! Just the sneaky thief you are!" Why am I yelling, he though. I can't even remember the reason. Zeke felt dizzy and lay back down on the floor. His breath came in pants, yet the pixels in his virtual body didn't need the virtual oxygen.

"Dude! Chill out! I still need to ask you one last question. You can go to sleep after you answer." Zeke sat back up. "What were you doing before you were attacked?" Zeke recalled a stall. It was shattered and he was stuck to a metal wall. He had been shopping, he deduced. He told Kain as much. "Were there any messages while you were shopping?"

Zeke remembered what happened while shopping. He remembered himself swiping away the messages to draw his sword. Then he had been hit. That was all he could find. He told Kain, who nodded. Zeke flopped down on the hard ground but managed to fall asleep. His dreams were twisted and confusing...

* * *

The wooden boss had him pinned down to the dirt of the Boss Room. Only his sword was gone, his coat in tatters, gauntlets ruined, and all of his body was covered in blood. He quickly realized it was his own, only real. No pixels could make it look like that.

The boss launched a tentacle downwards at a blinding speed and struck him. It quickly penetrated his broken armor and passed through his gut. Blood flooded his throat and he hacked it all up. Still, he chocked on it and he saw the other players looking at him, laughing. He was the Blood Red Dragon, the one to defeat the first of many bosses.

And yet, he felt like he deserved to die. He felt that he had betrayed his friends, some he couldn't remember. People looked at him with awe, but he was just a boy underneath this skin. A different person. They may act the same, but he was not who he looked like. He was a weak, worthless little kid. And so, choking on his real blood, his Blood of the Dragon, Zeke died...

* * *

Zeke sat up quickly, sweat rolling down his body and his breathing was shaken. He couldn't remember his dream, but knew it scared him. He knew he had just died, but not died. Tears were streaking down his face and his nose was running. Such weakness and shame, being scared from nothing.

"I'm okay. I'm fine. Nothing has gone wrong," Zeke muttered. He tried to calm himself, but nothing he tried worked. He was still shaken. _What's wrong with me? Am I going insane?_

Feeling stronger, Zeke opened his menu as he stood up. He pulled out his armor, which was a relief to see wasn't stolen. He equipped the familiar Coat and arm guards. The white gauntlets he left behind and dragged out his sword. He missed it's weight and comfort. The belt was wrapped around his body to support the sheathe on the back and, with it, Zeke felt complete.

Of course, Zeke didn't notice that his feet were cold until they touched the cool brass sidewalks. He quickly put on his Porker boots. The cold quickly left his toes. With training in mind, he set off towards the exit of town. Out of nowhere, a figure appeared in the middle of the street. He quickly skidded to a stop.

"Who are you," Zeke called, reaching for his blade. "If you don't tell me, I'll get passed you." The figure moved closer to one of the street lamps. It was a male and he stood thirty meters away. It was difficult to see him. In his hand, he held a package. With a professional throw, the package sailed towards him quickly. The parcel held no indication of it's sender, but it was hard to keep track of in the air.

With a deft one hand catch, Zeke looked at it. It was in a simple white wrapping. Opening it revealed his Roka Wolf leather and Loria goggles, glass tinted in red. Zeke read off the card on the side of the tag what it was made of. He looked up and the person was gone. They must either have hide up pretty well, or they work fast.

Zeke put on his new headgear and felt an unfamiliar, but comfortable weight. He pulled them down over his eyes to feel them and felt quite satisfied by the product. He wished he could be a skilled blacksmith like those two were. But what about paying for them? Did he? Are they a gift? The knowledge he was looking for just wasn't there. Why would she give them to him? But why was he questioning free stuff? It was free stuff?_ That thought is probably going to back to bite me_, he thought, pushing them back up.

* * *

The caverns were as dark as he remembered, but he didn't expect a monster within the first 100 meters. A clockwork spider jumped out of the shadows and struck him in the face. Recognizing it from before, it was a Plated Spider. Bright red pixel cuts appeared on the side of his face, but faded quickly. Not much damage was done. With a practiced hand, MetalDargon drew the blade as the Spider leaped again. The blade met the metal gears in mid air, the same gash appearing enlarged on the underside of the automaton. After activating 'Slash', the spider extended it's claws.

The metal machine collided with Zeke's sword and it was down to a fourth of it's HP. He positioned his body into a lithe form, making kick offs easier and giving great initial speed. The position activated 'Reckless Charge (1-hnd)' and the red blade was covered in purple and blue. Zeke rushed forward and brought the blade directly down onto the body of the spider. It's gears screeched and broke. A few seconds later, it exploded into golden pixels.

_Congratulations MetalDargon!_

_Exp: 427_

_Gil: 590_

_Item: Echo Dynamo _(Rare)

That was a weird item, but Zeke didn't even care to check. He was finished training for now, even if he only killed one enemy. Suddenly, he got a message. The loud ring he heard made him nearly hit the roof of the cave when he jumped. Once calm, he tapped the blinking red chat bubble. There was a message from Kain.

_Where are you?! We're looking everywhere for you? Are you still alive? Come back to the Inn if you get this and bring every weapon that you have. We need to talk to you now. Where are you? Are you near?_

_\- Kainster_

Zeke sighed and returned his blade. As he released his handle, he noticed the black wire that was wrapped around the black leather hold. So that was the upgrade. What did it do, he had no idea. He wasn't really in the mood for checking the stats added by the upgrade. What he was in the mood for was hearing what Kain needed to tell him. And he'd rather know now than later. They were, after all, guild mates.

* * *

Back in town, Zeke bought a few apples and instant health kits. He didn't want to die during the upcoming boss battle. It was delayed, but it will happen soon. And Zeke would not lose. He also saw a few armor shops. One caught his eyes. It was a small armor shop that held a better coat than his own, but also owned a selection of shirts. Walking in, he found the shop owner to be another player.

"Hello. Can I help you?" The girl's tone was bored, even when she was talking to a customer.

"Um. Yeah. I'd like to buy that coat with a strong red shirt." Zeke indicated which clothes he wanted. Groaning, the owner stood and walked to the shelf of shirts. One of the purplish red shirts was taken and she reached up to grab the black leather coat, dragon scales imprinted and lined with grey, making the scales obvious.

* * *

**And, though I know you guys don't want it to be, that's the end. Of the chapter, I mean.**

**Please leave a review or comment to say how much of a jerk I am, making you wait. Message me privately if you want to say something really mean. I can take it because I know I deserve it. Please also know I want you all to visit the game Battlefield, the Attack on Titan game Online. It's for both Android and Apple devices, but works best on phones, not tablets. When asked, enter the invitation code 2700731016. It will give you extra gold (premium cash) and also add me as your friend, I think. I know about the gold part.**

**Listen to Just Awake by FaLiLV**

**If you see me, say hi. I'm tired now. LowePlays, signing out!**


	18. The Raid Party

**Hey, everyone! I'm back. I just finished up on a chapter of Attack of Quillian. It is just getting to the real training. You know, real training. Anyways, wrong story. Where did I leave off? Oh, yeah. Remember how he bought that wire upgrade? He has some money left, but will he have enough to buy this coat? Yeah, probably. Or will he? I'm sorry. I'm just excited I can finally write this story again. And I know I am changing his style half-way through the second floor, but there really isn't much style in a blood red coat. Plus it's the second freaking floor of one hundred. I switched his black shirt with red and the coat for black. The grey pants have to go as well. The hole in them is showing off his thigh. No more! **

**Let me draw his appearance with words so you don't forget. He is 5' 7", brown wavy spiked hair, goggles made from black leather and mix match red and black metal. The glass is tinted red as well. He has a sharp nose and his almond eyes are red. His hands are bare, for now, but his forearms have a pair of orange guards with two small white hooks pointing backwards. Those will change soon. The power of dyes. His coat is red and underneath is a deep green of forests. A small belt holds tattered linen pants up and his boots come up below the knee and are from Pirates of the Caribbean, Jack Sparrow. See him? He's also level... 16? I'll make him 16. **

**But enough rambling! Read on and enjoy!**

* * *

The coat was minimized once it's fabric hit the counter and displayed, along with the red shirt, on a menu. The icons were displayed with price tags and tags. Zeke just looked at his balance, showing up as 91,385 Gil. He didn't expect to have so much after going to that weapon shop. Still, he wanted it to be perfect. A flat number, like 90,000. His mind still had missing pieces, but he didn't mind them. He was fine without knowing those things was the best reason he could give.

"C'mon, sir. I have to do other things, you know." The shop owner was standing with a hand on her hip and she was chewing some sort of gum replacement; Gum didn't exist in ABO.

"Yeah, I know. I was just looking and this says it would cost me a bit. I just need two, maybe three thousand. Can I get a slight discount if I buy something else?" The confusion hit the player and her face twisted into a frown. Zeke didn't know someone's eyebrow could be raised to be that high.

"Why would you want to have a discount from buying more if you need money?"

"I want my balance to be completely even," Zeke explained. He didn't really remember ever being OCD about this kind of thing. "You know, solid zeros." Sighing, she accepted. He had noticed a pair of grey pants, only these had a cool dark design up one side. He immediately took them. Being the owner, the girl had to get them, being to only one able to touch them. Otherwise, a robbery would be initiated and he didn't have nearly high enough dexterity.

"Is that it?" His balance would be dropped to 27,856.

"Can you take off 2,144 Gil? That would even my balance." The owner just pressed a few buttons, exaggerating that she was doing him the biggest favor. Then the price changed on the coat, the most expensive item, and changed his balance to 30K. Flat balance, no more OCD. Zeke gladly pressed the check mark. The three items were added to his inventory and he felt 60K Gil lighter. Opening his menu with a tug, Zeke changed his shirt, coat, and pants in one swipe. The clothing was heavier and the coat had a few white metal plates on the shoulders and upper chest. The shoulder plates wrapped around him like clamps and the chest pieces were like arrow fletchings that overlapped.

_This clothing feels good, _Zeke thought to himself. _Plus there isn't that hole in my pants. _

The change of clothes were nice, but they conflicted horribly with his other armor. His new arm guards did not mix well with the Red, Black, and White. He would not have that. Removing them, he stored them with his gauntlets, but he planned on using them later. Now was a time to be casual.

The dark underground steampunk town was the same, even the broken stall was repaired, as if the whole thing has never happened. Zeke walked down the street with his menu open, a map on one side and his inventory open. With a recent in game update, of which he was recently aware of, they had added the Inventory Separation Boxes. They allowed for a easier access and he was experimenting with it. He found a lot of his stuff to be sellable or worthless and placed it in a box with that one mace wielding guy's stuff. All of it was worthless except the cape. The cape he would keep, no matter how weak.

The second part of the update came with a new ability breakdown skill. It involved destroying an item while the recipe for crafting one was revealed. It was a great help and allowed for edits to improve or weaken the first design. Not able to use the Breakdown Skill, Zeke would keep the cape until he could.

Having sorted most of the mess, he arrived at the Inn. What greeted him was a bunch more people than he expected. Surrounding Kain was a dozen players who had some weaker arms and armor, but all looked ready to fight. There were a few cute girls, but Zeke couldn't deal with girls at the moment.

"Kain, what is all this? What's with all these players? What did you do?"

"Relax, my man. I used your map data to find the boss room with my Extreme Speed and Teleporting Step. I spied on the boss and made it back with my teleport crystal. You might want to check on the stats." Kain pressed a few buttons in his menu and pulled up some tabs. After a few moments, he dragged his finger in a circle towards Zeke. What he saw was a full description of the boss. "It's all accurate. I use this for a ton of my fights and the skill is true. It has two health bars, 5000 health each. It's also level 23. My level is seventeen and no one here gains more EXP on a run than I do. It's attack isn't too bad, but it's speed will be a problem. We need to corner it and subdue it. Now scroll to bottom." Zeke did so. At the bottom was a picture of a small-ish streamline feline. The worst part was it's brass skin and the column of steam rising from it's ears. "We have to beat that. Once I released a message of a boss raid going to happen soon, these people showed up. Still, they are a bit weak. Can you help them with weapons?" He'd totally forgot that was the entirety of this meeting.

"I am as low as can be when it comes to money. Where do you think I got these new clothes? They didn't come from any monster drops. But I do have a weapon or two I collected from drops and stuff." Zeke opened his selling box and took out the mace from that blue mugger from that last fight. He also took out a green Great sword he got from who knows where. He didn't even know he had it. He probably forgot about it from his memory loss, but he still couldn't use it. The blue comet made the heavy weapon appear on the brass table.

"W-woah! That weapon! Even I don't have the required stats to lift that blade," said a kid with dark blue hair, greatsword carrier. "I still don't even have Loria yet!" The kid was obviously a noob. His buddies were also looking in awe. They all probably just wanted to get their name down as a boss fighter. Then a shadow in the corner of Zeke's eye moved. He quickly turned to it. A black cloak was sitting on the edge of the bar. The entire thing covered all features they had. He couldn't even see his, or her, weapons. It was the guy from the first boss fight.

Turning formal in the eyes of a top player, Zeke addressed the group. "Alright then. If none of you can do anything, I know only one thing to do. We're going back downstairs." That elicited groans from everyone. "Hey! You're all weak maggots and you need some training. I know where some of the best mobs spawn. With me, none of you will die!" It sounded more epic in his head, but it still earned an applause from people waiting in the bar this late at night. A wave of dizziness hit Zeke and he had to sit down on the ground.

"Are you alright, Mr. Dragon?" One of the recruits held his hand out and had a small smile on his face. Something about his voice and hair made him familiar. Where had he seen that red hair? "It's your bro Rush. From the first day? It's been a while." Rush! That noob with the giant no good sword. He seemed to have switched weapons pretty early on, because the blade was missing from his back. No one wanted to restart their skill trees now. Zeke easily lifted himself up when relying on Rush.

"Yeah. It has been awhile."

* * *

The real world was closely monitoring Zeke's condition. He'd been in critical watch for several days now and his condition was slowly recovering. Still, his heartrate would occasionally dip or speed up. His brain was slightly damaged, having been under stress and his vitals being strange. Amnesia would forever follow him, but nothing too major was wrong. At least, that's what the doctors told the boy's mother and family...

* * *

The entire party of fighters marched out onto the green plains, numbering almost 20 and consisted of both men and women. The black cloaked one was undecided since no voice came from under the hood. It was nice to see the blue sky and the green nature. The golden brass was starting to look dark and evil.

Mobs were plentiful in Zeke's favorite hunting grounds, but the noobs were so weak, they couldn't fight one of them. The highest level, besides [Dark_Hand], who sat smugly at level 19 under their hood, was Sadistic_Meatball. He was Rush's friend and was level 10. Zeke checked his stats to see he, himself, was level 16. He was strong, compared to the others of his group. Kain recently became level 17 due to his constant thievery. It was deemed that [Dark_Hand], Kain, and TheMetalDargon were the leaders, being the strongest trio of them all.

"C'mon, bro," said Kain. "We should start off in the Cracked Ravine. The monsters should be enough of a challenge for these guys. It's practically back at the spawn point. And you could face monsters at level 7 when you were starting out. These should be an easy task even they couldn't mess up. What do you think?"

"No," Zeke said, adamant on his decision to start off with stronger opponents. "If we all work in pairs, fighting against the level 12 monsters here, the EXP gain will be double for every player." [Dark_Hand] was 'participating' by sitting in a chair in Kain's house while Kain and Zeke argued over a map of the first floor. The meeting was meant to be short, but they had been going at it for more than an hour. Zeke even suspected [Dark_Hand] was sleeping.

"Fine, how about this Rauka Plains? I heard the monster drops are like crazy."

"I've never been there," Zeke said. "Have you been there?"

"Once. The monsters are all Nature and Earth based. Should be easy pickings. I scored a few items from kills."

"If what you say is true," Zeke paused. "Then we're going there tonight. Time is precious and I'd rather not waste it." The meeting had started after dinner, sunset. Now the stars were showing. The moon wasn't full, but it was close to. Kain nodded and typed a message on an invisible keyboard. It was quickly sent and it read as this:

_The EXP run is strting in 5 mins. meet my place. _  
_**?NUBUBFPhome736? ** _

_ \- Kain, your co-commander ()={]:::::::_

"Commander? And why did you start trying to add a sword to the end of every message?"

"Hey! I _am_ a commander now. And the sword is a dagger to show my emblem."

"Whatever. Hey [Dark_Hand]! We're leaving!" They nodded. The dark hood still creeped him out. What had he, or she, to hide?

Outside, the air was cool and moist. It was perfect for the excersice they were about to preform. Players from the group showed up through teleport crystals, each set to the location sent in the message. After only two minutes, everyone, even Rush and Sadistic_Meatball, were there on time. It was a great sight and feeling. All these people at his disposal. His troops. Zeke felt nervous as well, tugging at his coat. The cool white metal was soothing and the scaled pattern on the sleeves were a show of his strength. Still, public speaking was never his strong suit. Opening his mouth to speak, Kain cut him off by reacting faster.

"Hey. Though it may be dark, this is no time to mess around waiting. All time is worth something. Training with this time should be the best way to spend it! We're heading to Rauka Plains. There are some tough mobs, but the EXP and armor you get should be worth something. You won't regret coming as long as you have a partner. Zeke here and myself will be along for support. We will help who is in need and share drops with everyone." Zeke saw Kain cross his fingers behind his back. He smirked a bit and nodded to the crowd, also crossing his own fingers. "Now! Let's move out and start up the training!" Everyone cheered.

"That was much easier than I thought," Kain whispered to Zeke.

"Yeah. I didn't have to do anything." They both laughed and followed their squad of special boss fighters. Not a single player knew exactly where the boss room was except Zeke, Kain, and [Dark_Hand]. When they were done training, they would crush the boss before a single player knew what was going on. Hopefully no one found that room before then.

* * *

**I'm going to cut it here. Next chapter WILL be the boss fight. I'm sorry for delay and your patience. I've had tests, moving, school, life, and just not feeling like writing. It's mostly my fault, some laws too, since I have to go to school. I'll try to get more writing out, but I still have school and stuff, even though I hate it. I don't know a single person who does love it. Learning is good, but school is a prison where they force you to learn. And then you return the next day. Willingly.**

**The leader bit was a creative idea I had during gym class. Leading the noobs, including Rush and Sadistic_Meatball, into training was like following one of the students in stretching and stuff. Lame, but it works for me. If anyone has a creative idea, send one to me. I am happy to help anyone in their writing. Or if you have a cool plot point for my story, I'm all ears. I haven't been working on Attack of Quillian since I had my exams. I did okay by my standards, but the work it takes took the ideas from my brain. Plus I have to write a maximum of 1000 word full horror story by Monday. Works for me, but not for Fan fictions.**

**LowePlays, signing out. See you guys in the next chapter!**


	19. When Things Go as Planned

**Hello! I'm here again! What day is it? Anyways, I wanted to thank everyone for supporting my story and reading it this far. Thanks for no bad comments and reviews and positive feedback. This story is my favorite as well. I've been writing my 'Attack on Quillian' for fun and all, but it was just for practice and stuff. I might do more, but maybe not. But I hope you enjoy! Don't forget to write a review and leave a like. Subscribe for new content every week! (Probably not, but follow me for new content every 2 weeks max)**

**Also, I've noticed my Author's note is getting longer every chapter. And so, **

**Read on and Enjoy! **

* * *

A week passed since they'd begun training. The stories were true for the drops; their inventories were filled several times over and a extra storage was bought with the money. The worthless drops were to be sold while the ones that were to be used were used. And in that week, only a few hours passed with them asleep. All of them trained. Only [Dark_Hand] went entirely without sleep. With a short sword, he, or she, hacked at monsters at so close of range, they hit themselves. Their speed and movement stats must have been pretty high. None of the players could match that kind of speed. With the training and constant fighting, everyone's levels grew.

Zeke advanced three levels and caught up to Kain, who gained two. Both were at level 19. Rush, who switched to a longsword like Zeke's, was the top of the newbies at level 16. Sadistic_Meatball was right behind at 15. KatGirl was level 15 as well and often clung to Zeke, pressing her bust into him. He had a rough week with sudden emotions popping up from nothing as it was. With an attractive girl with a large... assets, it was hard to keep his emotions down below the surface. He also had to disable physically sexual reactions around her.

Most of the Archers were low level because they needed at least two supports to keep them useful. Their low endurance caused them to share a lot of the EXP and left them low. Still, one guy named Silver is able to take on anything because of his well placed stat points. Everyone else chose to advance their dexterity and agility, allowing for super precise and fast attacks. Silver had stats put into Dexterity, Vitality, and Strength. His speed was assisted by his bow, which was custom crafted to be light and buffed with speed. His arrows were all Gilden arrows, a common ore only used with expendable items. Zeke spent his free time talking with Silver due to interest in archery.

The squad consisted of a few girls and mostly guys, adding up to ten good warriors, not including Zeke, Kain, or [Dark_Hand]. They all fought hard, some harder than others, and rested only to restore comfort. The girls that were the youngest didn't train as hard as others. There were two and both were level 11, both mages. They slept often. The most out of everyone. It was a little uncomfortable for those who didn't like children; the girls were almost 10. How young to be trapped inside this game?

After gaining and selling the drops he'd obtained, Zeke earned a fair amount of golden Gil. He used it to buy a red dye. Using it, he dyed the orange leather arm guards to a dark shade of red. The white claws and black fur added way more style to his gear. With the added refinement, his power slightly increased. Especially after leveling. The gear that was useful, he gave to the rest of the group. Life was okay. At least, that's what everyone said.

Zeke felt like he was missing someone, but his memories were missing. And he knew he was never getting them back. Such things had already happened and yet it was only the second floor. Still, things were moving faster now. Their progress would not be halted by a measly Brass cat. Standing from his seated position, he took a deep breathe.

* * *

The group stood before the stone gate and prepped their gear. It was all going to be perfect. And it was just the moment for Zeke to have an emotional attack. He was so sad and longing for something. The dim light infected his feelings and his emotions. It was unexplainable and he couldn't tell Kain. Kain would brush it off as some teenage phase. It probably was something like that, but somehow Zeke wanted it to be special. And now was the time for him to feel like this? His body was unresponsive to movement, but his awareness was open. Tears fell and he started to shake. What was he going to do?

"Are you alright, Mr. Dargon?" It was one of the squad members, WyrdLight. Then he could move. He looked up at him, his face older than twenty. "C'mon. Everyone's waiting for you." Zeke was still shaking, but he stood. His armored coat hid some of the shaking, but the sword on his back betrayed him. "It's alright. We're all scared. Just don't let us down, so we won't either." Wyrd smiled and adjusted his helmet. He always was an easy going guy.

"O-okay. I... I'll try." He had a promise to keep and he wasn't going to watch anyone he knows be hurt. He'd seen, though now foggy, a few of his comrades killed in battle. He knew they were dead in real life. Adamant would never allow anyone to escape alive. He would try to prevent that from ever happening. He adjusted his guards and belt, making sure they were secure.

"As Master Yoda once said," Wyrd said as he walked away. "'There is Do, and there is Do not. There is no Try.' As long as you're with us, nothing bad will happen. But it goes both ways." He joined the crowd. Zeke wiped away his tears. He couldn't be caught crying now. He was the Blood Red Dargon, the unbeatable swordsman. He was not going to be viewed as being weak. He breathed in and out smoothly, no matter how his virtual diaphragm protested.

When he was prepared he spoke to the muttering crowd who were his friends and comrades.

"Alright. Um... Here we go." Everyone turned to face him in the light of the mages' lights. He would thank them later, after the fight. "Beyond this gate is the boss. We've all read Kain's report and we know what it is we are facing. Remember, it has high speed and attack, so defense is vital. It has low piercing resistance and defense so, as long as we hit it, we should be able to defeat it quickly. Remember it's movements and stick together. It has to have a pattern. All machines have a pattern." Everyone nodded bravely. "Now, let's go kill a boss!" The party cheered and Kain moved up beside Zeke with Rush behind. Zeke pushed on the door and they advanced inside.

* * *

The room was lit by a flame, low yet bright. The theme was that of a blacksmith's with no tools but a few ledges. It was warm, almost hot, and the stone and dirt that was the floor was hard and firm. Fighting would be easy. The group of thirteen players spread out and drew their weapons. Soon, out of the dark corners came a sharp _ting, _like metal on stone. Then emerged the source, a giant panther made from bronze metal and leaked smoke from it's ears. It was as it was in the picture. It was going to be a piece of cheese cake. Then it moved.

It was like a blur, a golden bolt of lightning struck one of the newer members. The kid sailed through the air and smashed into a wall. Someone shouted and Zeke turned towards the cat. It was as tall as he was, 1.7 meters and with so much weight, getting hit would be... painful. With his thin red blade, Zeke raised it into an A. Then, moving it in a clockwise rotation at the socket, ended at nine. The action caused the blade to take on a bright red color, almost pink. The automaton turned and ran at Zeke. With a smirk, he swung at the head of the feline. The skill extended the blade by two times, cutting open the side of the Panther. Without thinking of physics, the cat kept going forward and smashed into him.

Upon impact, Zeke's health dropped by a sixth. In an instant, golden brass claws ripped at his chest and three lines appeared. His health dropped by a fraction due to armor and a lucky barrier put up by Celina. The one guy with a greatsword rescued Zeke with a slash at the boss. It was Apple, or as his real name, James.

"C'mon. We need you to survive. You're one of our best hopes of winning!" Zeke was dizzy from what happened in the last five seconds.

"Wow, he's strong," was the best he could say. Their attacks had only damaged a fourth of the first health bar and the gashes were being sealed by the in-game mechanism. Zeke's own wounds were sealing and he stood. When he was all the way up, noticed his sword wasn't in his hand. It was actually stuck in the side of the metal feline. He was weaponless and the boss was about to pounce on Elaina, Celina's sister.

Watching without a sword, Zeke activated a magic spell he'd recently bought. It was the weakest combat spell, but anything helps right now. With a few selected words and hand gestures, the wind spell was cast and buffeted the metal cat. It stumbled before releasing a heavy cloud of smoke, which was blown upwards by the short gust. It's glowing eyes turned towards Zeke. Raising his arms, he had no intention of fighting. Still, he had one standard off-hand skill everyone had if they happened to break their weapon.

Out of nowhere came two sheets of wind that smashed together. Suddenly, there was a raging tornado in the middle of the room. It seemed there was a hand made from swirling dirt that grabbed the cat and everyone watched as it's life slowly drained. Suddenly, a red streak came from the tornado and struck next to Zeke. Looking down, there was his sword. It was planted down to it's winged hand guard and the stone around was cracked. Reaching down, he grabbed the hilt and tugged. It was stuck.

At the same moment, everyone was covering for Zeke. Sliver was firing arrows with the other archers, Sadistic_Meatball was leading a defense ring around the controlled tornado. [Dark_Hand] was jumping through the twister and slashing at the cat, causing tons of damage with their agility and attack power. Kain was also jumping around, sticking his shadowed hand into the miniature storm and stealing parts from inside. And Zeke was trying to pull a sword from the ground.

With no power infinite, Elaina faltered and Celina stumbled and the winds lessened. Zeke still had his blade in the ground and it wasn't coming loose. The glowing eyes of the boss turned to the weaponless Zeke. Frantically pulling on the weapon, he tried to get into position. What disgrace, dying as one of the best players in the game, to a floor two boss with his sword in the ground. No! That would not happen.

Suddenly, [Dark_Hand] was there. With a kick, the handle sunk deeper into the ground. Then the cloaked player grabbed the hilt and pulled it from the stone before tossing it back to it's owner. Zeke caught it with a stumble. He hadn't expected it to be pulled out so easily. He was broken from his revere by the high-pitched whine and hiss from the Metal Feline. With a new determination, he turned to the boss as [Dark_Hand] disappeared in a flash. Flames erupted from the gem in the guard and bathed the blade. This time it wouldn't fail him.

The cat broke from a slow, menacing saunter into a run. Being confident, Zeke waited until he was sure before starting a two step sprint. That was all he needed. His timing was a bit off, but his swing was accurate. The flame engulfed blade cut through the head of the brass cat and severed the jaw of the boss, along with it's shoulder. They landed with a sharp _clang_ and the cat fell into the ground. It's speed forced it into the stone ground. Several chunks of broken cobblestone fell out of the dust cloud.

With a smirk, Zeke turned to the cat. In that moment, it recovered enough to limp out of the cloud, only to be met with [Dark_Hand]'s short blade. It's entire left leg fell onto the ground. Steam leaked from it as it fell and [Dark_Hand] leaped away. Mid leap, the panther reached out with it's long claws and raked them across black cloaked figure. The Automaton fell to the ground again, it's remaining limb struggling to find ground to stand.

The group quickly moved in for the kill, stopping it's petty struggles. A hammer and mace smashed at the head. Swords, including Dragon's Blood, slashed at the body. Arrows were fired up it's ass and into the side. The health of the boss dropped lower and lower. Finally, the final fraction of health was showing before the feline acted. The heat inside the body suddenly erupted outwards. The blast of hot steam that billowed out burned and damaged the ones nearest. Zeke was about to swing when the blast caught him in face.

The sensation of his skin, no matter how fake or virtual, the feeling was so painful. Red wound marks blossomed all over his face and he couldn't see. He stumbled back and covered his face. Health slowly dropped from the burn and a small flame icon was displayed next to his health bar. A ear-piercing whistling sound signaled the end of the fight. Slowly, the red wounds faded away and everyone was breathing heavily. Even so, joy was on their faces. They all deserved the praise the could take. Each and every one of them was strong and they'd all fought their hardest. The room restored it's self and everyone relaxed.

They were his friends. No matter what his lost memories held, one could not have been better than these fourteen individuals. Zeke looked for the injured [Dark_Hand], but only saw a shredded cloak. But yet there was a pretty girl in dark clothes he'd never seen before hiding in the shadows.

"Who are you," he called to the girl. She turned towards him and two cold eyes looked straight back at him, defiant. He liked that. "Who are you?"

"You don't recognize me?" Her voice was soft, but it still held a sharpness. It was like a knife was pressed to his throat.

"No," he replied. "Tell me who you are."

"God, you're stupid. I'm [Dark_Hand], you moron." Zeke just let his jaw drop slack and he stared blankly at her. She was [Dark_Hand]? A girl was the most powerful player in the game?

* * *

**And that'll be all folks!**

**I'm satisfied with my work. Got this one done in three hours and just in time for my vacation from school to start. Anyone interested, I write for a magazine and I could use help with short stories. If you want to send me your ideas or full story (less than 3k words) and I'll add your name next to mine and you can be in the magazine too! I'm good at writing, but ideas and name aren't easy. No, I don't exactly get paid, but I don't have to pay for it either.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Blades of Alliance. I worked pretty hard on it, but I mean I got it done quickly. I love this story and I hope you guys do too.**

**I liked that ending...**

**LowePlays, signing out! Until next time!**


	20. Attack of the NPCs

**Hi! I'm back again! Sorry for Monday and stuff, but now it should be fine. I have been tasked with school, though and it's mainly writing. I have begun writing for the magazine and all, but I need some suggestions. I promise to put a user name next to the title. I won't take credit that wasn't mine. Usually. If I see a good idea, I'll steal some. Everyone here does it.**

***EDIT* Sorry that I haven't been posting. Many projects and tests are underway. I have worked hard on this chapter with the limited time I've had.**

**Leave a review if you enjoy!**

**Read on and enjoy!**

* * *

The team walked out of the eleventh floor boss room, activating the teleport authorization crystal. Four months had passed since they'd joined together and the Blades of Alliance guild held fourteen members. All weapons had been upgraded, all armor changed, every stat better than before. Everyone had different levels. They had no requirement for leveling, but they were always fighting together. They were friends fighting to beat the game of Alpha Blades Online. Who's ever heard of an MMORPG ever being beaten?

"Okay guys. We obtained some rare items and my status says I'm hungry." Everyone listened to Zeke, laughing a bit at his lame joke. Everyone could feel hunger. Zeke was not the same as he was four months ago. The long black leather coat had been replaced by a black and red dragon skin coat. Real scales marked the surface, along with a few spikes. His Dragon's Blood sword had been sold, quickly going to some girl who also bought his coat and boots. Instead, a new red blade hung across his back. It had no guard or handle. Just a few layers of white cloth protected the user. The entire blade was a dark and it's edge almost transparent red. Near the base was two prongs of metal jutting out from above the cloth grip. It's only decoration were black chains extending from both prongs and the very base of the sword. Zeke used them to keep the blade on his back, where it currently hung.

And we can't forget the goggles. His goggles were made from a light golden ore for durability, though it was heavy. Enchants helped him to see his target in smoke and also help to see critical damage areas. In turn, he used them a lot more. They also helped when exiting dark areas.

"C'mon, _Dargon," _Kain said, enunciating the 'Dar' in a playful manner. He'd also changed. His green colors changed to a dull blue and purple and the knife he held looked more brutal than ever, being twisted and split in two. His green vest was replaced by a hard chestplate made from some type of leather. Details of purple ran like vines through it and it made Zeke's head hurt if he ever thought about them. And finally, his green hairband had been replaced by a blue bandanna.

"Well, I am hungry." Zeke swiped open his map and looked around at the new town. It was labeled as 'Calmorria' and it was set in massive trees, the buildings carved straight out of the trunk or wrapping around it. Leaves were constantly blowing across the hanging bridges and treehouses. "It says there is a inn and bar here. But over here is says there is a restaurant. Which do you guys want to go to?"

"To the Bar," [Dark_Hand] said. Her voice was as sharp as ever, yet so beautiful. Zeke never told anyone, but he had a snapshot of her face he constantly looked at. She had bought a new cloak and covered herself again, keeping anyone from seeing her. Though why she did, Zeke was clueless.

"Any other suggestions?" A few said Bar, others Restaurant. Time to use his leader skills. "Bar it is, then!" Some complaints, mostly cheers.

"Now, now," Kain said. "We need a few bites and we don't need to go to the buffet for just a sandwich. So the Bar. Plus [Dark_Hand] would kill me otherwise." A few laughed while others mumbled. They walked off while keeping to themselves; the only people were NPCs. Not many people enjoyed heights, so that may have been the reason for the heavy fog cloud below. The swaying bridge was unsettling but through experience they knew it would never break. It was an immortal object.

Being in a city of treehouses was unsettling, but it wasn't the strangest thing they'd seen. So far, the entire guild had participated in seven boss battles. Four of them were beaten solely by Blades of Alliance and they had a three time streak. The other floors were beaten by the other guilds and it opened so much more space in four months. They'd lost none in battle, though they had come close twice. They were the best guild in the game due to their speed and scouting ability. Because they definitely weren't the strongest.

Recent events had resulted to an increase in Player Killings, murders. It's rumored that these new killers believed that the death in game simply fried the in workings of the Head gear, making it so you couldn't log back in. But that wasn't right. News that passed through had told them of over six thousand deaths due to the game called Alpha Blades Online.

The group, after backtracking twice, found the bar. It was distinguishable due to it's size, it's second floor, and the sign that said 'Wandering Ent Bar and Inn'. Zeke stopped before entering. He took a breathe of piney air.

"So, should I just get fifteen steaks and drinks? Or what?" He had the same problem every time he bought food for his guild. Or if he bought anything, really.

"IwantSteak!" "Uh, I want Chicken Cordon Bleu." "Bean Sprouts!" Everyone shouted out what they wanted. It was too much for Zeke to handle all by himself.

"Screw it. Go order for yourselves." He pushed on the door and looked inside. The interior was dead silent, though Zeke saw several NPCs sitting. One had a bit of salad in his mouth. They all just stared, dead eyed. The others piled inside, bumping into Zeke, who stood in the doorway. As soon as the doors closed, an electronic buffering effect passed over their eyes and they broke into cheer. The reaction was so unexpected that most had their weapons drawn. Zeke was about to cleave a man in half should he attack. Still, they were just NPCs.

Once the danger had passed, they sheathed their blades. In Silver's case, sheathe his gun. The NPCs held no reaction to their drawn weapons and quickly surrounded the group. Everyone had their hands on their weapons, but none drew them a second time.

The strange programming of the townspeople was strange. Not one had ever acted like them, surrounded and cheered for them. Something wasn't right. Zeke was about to order his guild to stand down when a few buffering voids appeared over the NPCs. Suddenly, they retreated and hid behind their booth walls. They coward and cried softly, looping through their programmed distress sounds.

"What's going on with this place? And why is their code all screwed up?" It was Sadistic_Meatball who asked the obvious questions. His greatsword was halfway out of it's sheathe he wore on his back.

"Calm down Meatball," Kain said stepping forward. He was on edge himself, but that didn't mean he knew when everything would be fine. At least, for the moment. "We know this is weird. Something is probably something happening in the real word. Maybe the company who runs the game is updating stuff?"

"No, that isn't right." It was Silver. He was the only adult of the group. It was a young adult game. "To update the code, the game would have to be shut off. Restarted. If they were updating something, we would all have either been logged out or transported to a lobby while the game was fixed." Silver was the only one with actual knowledge of code, though everyone in the group knew what 'code' was.

"Well, what's happening then?"

"Wait," Zeke said, interrupting. "What if the codes of the NPCs were taken and a substitute code was implemented? Couldn't that have worked?" It made sense that something like that could happen to Zeke, but was it possible?

"Maybe," Silver replied. "The whole thing would need to be planned a day in advance to get the timing just right. That or luck."

"But why would the guys do something like that now?"

"Do you think that maybe we were in the right place at the just the right time? The workers couldn't know exactly what we saw unless they had admins with us the whole time, reporting back everything. They could have just gone ahead with the plan and got lucky. Or maybe they're from that movie Matrix. You know, 'seeing people in the falling code' cliche?" Silver scratched his white hair, like he always did when he was thinking.

"It's fine now. We're-" Zeke was cut off by a pressure to his arm. Looking down, he saw KatGirl clinging to him, shaking and twitching her feline ears. The metal claws attached to her waist belts were clicking rapidly inside their sheathe. "Uh, Kat? Are you alright?" Silver laughed softly as he turned away.

"I- I was so scared! I thought we would die! But you were there to protect me, right?" She looked up at him with her green eyes wide and watery. Zeke struggled to look away and deny her, but he couldn't help it.

"Y-yeah, I guess so. Still, with those claws, you probably would have turned them to mince meat." She smiled and showed her sharp fangs.

"I knew you were with me!" Zeke then felt a hand grab his shoulder and Kat was ripped away from him. Just when he was starting to get simply used to her.

"I said cut it out!" Rush was standing over her and frowning. "He doesn't like it when you're hanging off him like he's some object."

"You said that last time," She said with her best pout face, so cute that any man who looked had tears come to their eyes. That caused her to try to hug and wipe her face into Zeke's shoulder, but Rush kept a vice grip on her shirt.

Zeke looked sheepishly at Kain for assistance but his face was blank.

Girls+Boobs*Kawai=ERROR 404! Mind resetting!

"Kain? Kain. Ka-ain." KatGirls was looking down at Kain, who was sitting down now.

"Forget about him. He's gone. He can't even look at you without fainting. Seriously, he's weak." Rush waved off the brightly clothed thief. "And, anyways, I'm starving. When a-" A black leather fist silenced him and he sailed into a bench.

"Just shut up and go get me some food!" [Dark_Hand], while a few centimeters shorter, she had the highest stats. She easily sent him flying with her uppercuts and probably didn't even try.

"Damn!" Rush pushed the splintered wood off of himself and was about to advance. "Move Zeke. Get out of my way. I wanna get at her!"

"No. I can't just go find us all an unbroken seat and, uh," Zeke dropped to a whisper. "Save me a spot next to [Dark], will you?"

"..."

"C'mon. Just tell people not to sit by her."

"Fine. And get me some Roschka while you're up." Rush walked over too the booths where most of the group had already sat down. He followed KatGirl, which Zeke assumed was to keep an eye on her. If only the alcohol in this game was real, then Rush would relax sometimes.

After ordering at the bar, Zeke dragged Kain over to the booth, who was still recovering. His mouth had stopped twitching, but he still was staring blankly. He was so immature sometimes.

"Okay, everyone's gonna get their food within a minute, he said." Zeke sat down next to [Dark_Hand], the only open spot. Kain was placed next to Silver and he was starting to come around. Still, he was unresponsive since KatGirl stretched to fix her ears. Zeke tried to talk to [Dark_Hand], but she just ignored him and pulled her hood farther forward.

After a few minutes of fruitless talk, the food came and the chat of the NPCs replaced theirs. The meat of some strange beasts found in the jungle was tough but the taste was fatty. It was strange, but delicious.

"So, didn't you just level up, Dargon? What level are you again?" Zeke still had a mouthful but was about to swallow.

"Level 23 now. I put the skill points into Health Regen and Agi. My Str should be high enough." Zeke had almost been caught by the boss from his slow speed and health regeneration had been unlocked at level 20. Also Speed perception had been changed so that the speed seemed a fraction slower to prevent losing sight of reality. I don't know, but that was the update message last week.

"So, how are you able to gain levels so quickly compared to us? You're still four levels ahead of us," Rush sighed. All of them had been training hard, but Zeke 'forgot' to tell them about the new skill perk of Survivability. High Exp drops from all mobs and fights.

"It's just about how much practice you get," he said, an evil glint in his eyes and smirk.

"Well," [Dark_Hand] said. "It's about your skills and style. It's going to help in the long run to also spend money on hidden skills, the ones that aren't listed in the Official List." Zeke almost bite his tongue from how much she was giving out.

"Is that why you've been poor for the past few weeks? I'd wondered what else was more valuable than new shoes. Your's are falling apart. Seriously, the durability is kinda low, by my standards at least." Zeke scratched his head. Yeah, he did spend a bit for the skills, but the durability of his boots were only at a third.

"I just bought a few more sword skills. Nothing too huge. And I have money enough to buy replacement, but I was going to buy better light boots. I-" Zeke was about to continue, but the chatter of the NPCs died down. It was so quiet, too quiet. Zeke moved around just in time to dodge a sharp, dull golden dagger. The metal was murky enough to almost be mistaken for bronze, but the stats were scaring. And from tracing the arm back, the face was that of the bar tender.

* * *

**Alright! Getting onto the twelfth floor! Sorry there wasn't much action. I think I might rewrite this chapter before next week, but there won't be a new chapter until the week after that. It's been almost three months... Well, I just know I love writing this story. Still, I wish I had more time. **

**School*Homework+Games=No writing time=No chapters**

**I really hate it too. But maybe you'll be happier once I finally get my computer. That means writing and drawing! If you want, I could publish a few drawings to my Google+ profile and on the Sword Art Online Community. Keep watching for them, even in the past. I've posted some before. I'll take pictures of my hand drawings until then, but I'm not _that_ good.**

**Until next time!**

**LowePlays, signing out. Bye!**

***EDIT: I had to redo about 1k words of this chapter and it's mostly rewritten as it is. LoL. Plus writing allowed me to forget about class.**


	21. Duel with a Friend

**Hi guys. Sorry my upload times are just crazy. I literally have almost no time, except on Saturdays and I only have my phone. I was able to get to an isolated place and I went to work on this chapter. So I hope you enjoy it! I liked the part with the bug. It was part of the idea my father gave to me, a computer science major. I knew how it works to update it, but 'I' was 'updating the AI security parameters'. No one knows why this system is mutating, but maybe it's not. Maybe this is all on purpose?**

**The AI will only be hostile towards players on the... What floor was this again? Floor thirteen. Yup. Like Friday the Thirteenth. **

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and be sure to leave a good review for me and subscribe for more. Of course, I might not be able to post because of my next week. I have tests and projects due, plus I do have friends. I haven't been able to talk to them much.**

**(*EDIT: TESTS ARE NOW!*)**

**Well, read on and enjoy!**

* * *

The blade split and splintered the high-quality wood and barely missed Zeke's face by millimeters. It took a second to realize what was going on.

"Get him!" Rush had already drawn his secondary weapon, a knife. With a quick swipe, the NPC's eyes were blinded. The tender jumped back without a scream or a yell. A blurred pixelated line appeared where the slash had hit. All around were the rising NPCs, all grabbing random objects near them. One grabbed his own sandwich.

"Uh, what's going on?" KatGirl started to grab Zeke's are, but she also already had her Claws equipped. The foot long double blades on each hand made it hard to touch people. Zeke pulled his full blade off of his back, the Dragon's Fang pointed at the NPCs.

"How do we kill an NPC? They have no health bars, so they can't die. What's a strategy?" Zeke, even though he was one of the leaders.

"We might want to wake Kain up, first. Give me your drink, Zeke." [Dark_Hand] drew her black shortsword and grabbed Zeke's strawberry wine. With a splash, she poured the contents onto Kain's dazed face. He imeadiatly started gasping and his hair was plastered over his face. "C'mon, loser. No sleeping now."

"What the-" Kain struggled to gasp for air. The first NPC with a plate attacked and swung at Celene, only to catch a bullet from Silver in the face. The NPC flew back several meters. "What's going on?"

"Jeez. You're so weak. Get up and fight back. We're under attack, dumb ass. Draw your weapon and help." [Dark_Hand] didn't offer a hand, but instead started to slash at the surrounding NPCs. Zeke took a swing at a NPC and bisected one. The red blade gleamed grimly. Though they looked human, Zeke had killed before. Once. It was out of Self defense, but Zeke still felt horrible for it and his dreams were sometimes haunting.

"Watch out, Zeke!" A clang sounded as two blades met, one a dull golden and the other a black. One a knife, the other a shortsword.

"Thanks, [Dark_Hand]. You saved me. Again."

"Just keep your head straight. Don't die like a moron. Or else I'll kill you." Zeke glimpsed her pretty face in the darkness, only to see a menacing stare.

With a nod, Zeke spread out his stance for a wide range. Defensive Stance was activated and his defense stats were up to 125 percent. These NPCs might have been weak, but with so many, they could be over run three to one. The skill was only to hold the horde of them back while they retreated. Zeke glanced at his friends, seeing them fighting the immortal NPCs. They were struggling to keep ground, so there was no chance of gaining any. They only had one exit as well. Exit.

"Retreat and regroup outside. I have a plan." The group looked at him weirdly. The reason they were fighting was to win, not run. Still, they wanted to obey him, or else he might use the hat. Meter by meter, they backed up to the door. Opening it, they all ran out, grouping into a phalanx line. The NPCs, trying to get to the human players, ran like zombies of the edge of the small bridged platform and fell into the fog. Each fell and not a scream escaped them when the thumps of flesh on dirt sounded. Some of the team turned away at the sight and walked back inside. The Weapons were all quickly sheathed, though everyone was on edge about the attack. How could an NPC attack a person? Surely the game managers would fix this, right? Or was this just another way to kill us all?

Adjusting his goggles, Zeke sat down at the broken booth only to notice his food was missing. "Did someone steal my food or was it just knocked away by the fight?" He looked at all the people crowded around the large table. They all laughed at him because they all had food, though Rush had a considerable amount more than everyone else. "Hand over the steak, Rush. You know that it mine."

"Dammit! How'd you know? I tried to conceal it by eating quickly!" He complained as he tossed the steak onto a plate to keep the durability up on it and slid it over to him.

"I've got mad skills, bro. You should consider your perception skills. They could come in handy. And when you enchant items," Zeke said with a grin, pointing at his goggles. "You can even see weak points and hidden details on enemies." Zeke smirked, then took a huge bite from his MooMoo Steak.

"Lucky little bastard," Rush muttered while those near him laughed.

"What was that? Come on and say it again. I dare you!" Kain was almost standing on the table while Celeste and her sister held him back. Their small bodies were relatively strong compared to their thin arms. "Let go of me! I'll teach him!"

"Calm down, Kain. Just what did he say?" Zeke pulled his goggles down and unhooked the chain on his sword.

"He called you a 'bastard'," Kain growled and sat down. His headband sagged slightly, giving him a darker look.

"Well, then," Zeke said, standing up. A nerve in his forehead twitched and pulsed. "You know what, Rush? I'm kinda tired of your crap. Let's go, right now." The chain fell free and the red blade was pulled up from behind.

"Well, I'm done with you too. Let's go, you and me, on floor seven's battlegrounds. Come on and pull out a crystal and we'll go." Rush pulled out his red and orange Katana and pulled out his menu.

Pulling out his menu, Zeke withdrew a Large teleport crystal and set the location to the seventh floor's main capital. "Let's go, Rush. Everyone? Kain is in charge until I get back from beating this worthless piece of trash." The blue and white light of teleporting engulfed them and Rush desperately tried to make a bold retort but his voice was canceled due to the teleport.

* * *

Kain watched as his co-leader and friend grabbed Rush and thrust outwards a crystal. The crystal shattered and the two disappeared, leaving him in charge. Zeke had always been a bit on the weaker leader side, but he was stronger than Kain in terms of stats and academics. Now left officially in charge of the small group, he turned to the group.

"Uh... So in the mean time, what should we do? Any suggestions?" He impishly asked his fellow teammates. They all looked back at him.

"We could kick Zeke for being a dumb ass," [Dark_Hand] suggested. "He does deserve at least some form of punishment."

"I think we should wait until he gets back. In the mean time, though." Kain looked around at them. "Any other suggestions?"

"We could check out the entirety of the town. We should make sure it's safe before other people get permission to teleport to us." Celeste stepped forward with Elainia, staves in hand. For young children, they were quite clever.

"You, Celeste, are a genius. And probably too kind. Were you older, I'd marry you." Kain started off across the bridges of the treetop city, the rest in tow.

* * *

Zeke and Rush appeared side by side on the center pedestal used for free teleports.

"Okay. You want to do this, let's go. You're picking the spot." Rush brushed a spot of dust off of his shoulder and held his sword up. Zeke pushed his goggles to adjust them on the bridge of his nose. The Dragon's Fang blade gleamed with the usual red hue. The grey linen wrap around the handle was tight and Zeke was ready to slash at the Kid who had tried to leech from him. And the feeling of fighting was alive in his heart, making him feel lighter and faster. He was ready.

"Okay. Follow me and accept the challenge. I will win." Rush walked to the small nearby arena used for friendly duels. As the walked Zeke noticed the NPCs were acting normally. None of them even showed a sign of aggression.

_So, _he though. _It's just on the thirteenth floor. Is there some kind of sign I'm missing? It is simply a mistake in the coding of the floor? What was the reason for the hostile people?_

Soon, Zeke and Rush were followed by other players. They all recognized the two from one of the top guilds and tried to simply talk to the two. To focus on the upcoming battle, Rush was organizing his inventory and Zeke was simply not in the mood to talk to weak people. He had known too many weak players and had seen a few die. They weren't worth it.

"Okay. I'm ready." Rush and Zeke had arrived at the building of the arena, a two floor stone construct that was capable of holding half of the remaining eight thousand people still in the game. It was sad that almost half of the players had died, but each floor, less and less players were lost. In the last boss battle, they had only lost one.

Zeke pulled on his gauntlets and guards, having removed them and walked to his side of the arena. Half way, Rush sent the challenge. Zeke immediately accepted and the countdown appeared over the center, telling the two how much time they had. By the time Zeke and Rush were in position, the counter had lost half it's time, reading :30.

Prepared before the counter reached zero, Zeke assessed the stats of his opponent. Being in the same guild didn't allow them to kill each other, but they could still hurt each other. Rush's left arm would never be able to block due to the blade being two handed, but his body would be generally weak. His speed and attack were nothing too serious, but his defense on a whole were relatively high. Still, his own stats were much better than Rush's based on being a higher level.

As soon as the counter reached zero, Zeke activated his Offensive Defense skill and slowly advanced while Rush rushed forward. As soon as Rush was close, Zeke sidestepped and slashed at Rush's side. As if he expected it, Rush deflected it with the tip of his blade. Zeke back stepped with a quick jump. Rush's next strike fell short, missing Zeke's shoulder by a half meter. The short blade was easily pulled up and swung upwards. Zeke nearly didn't move his leg in time.

The crowds around, while small, were growing since rumors were spreading. Hey, two guys fighting was call for a crowd enough. When they are powerful or popular, it was sure to draw many more than a simple bar's worth. It was sure to be broadcasted to every person who cared. Within minutes, they would be pouring in. Zeke had to finish this quick.

He swung at Rush's leg, but fainted halfway through and swung at his chest. The Fang hit Rush's arm as he failed block the blood red blade. A bright stream of pixilated blood came from the wound. The guild bond restricted him from severing the limb, but Rush's health still dropped by at least a sixth or more.

With a damaged arm, Rush was unable to really strike for a full second. He didn't want to risk a lowered attack strength, but it was an option to use one hand, but the damage would be halved. This was probably his only chance. With a single handed stab, the red and grey Katana was stabbed through Zeke's coat and stomach. The in-game blood leaked from the wound.

When stabbed, Zeke hadn't expected a two handed sword user to be able to strike with only a single hand. Still, he expected the blade to do more damage. Though dripping down slowly, his health rested at seven eighths. Looking at Rush, who had a smirk on his face, it gave him an idea. The Katana was stuck inside of his stomach. Why not use it against him?

Rush, who wouldn't give up his weapon, had already done so. Zeke swung the Fang at his arms with one hand while his other kept the Katana in his stomach. Too late, Rush realized what was happening. His forearms were easily cut in the close proximity they had to each other. With the feeling of being pricked badly, Rush pulled back. With a hand on the blade, Rush's Katana was pulled from his hand.

Now with an advantage, Zeke advanced towards a weaponless Rush, who was looking through his menu. Suddenly, Rush had a giant two handed Bone Blade. The blade was easily swung down and Zeke pulled his blade up just in time.

"You didn't know I had this, did you? It's not my main weapon, but I still have skills from my time before." Rush had a confident face still, though his health was down to two thirds.

"One thing, Rush," Zeke said, struggling against the weight. "You talk too much during battle." He allowed the Blade to slam down, stepping out of harm. Jumping onto the sharpened blade edge, though it did injure him, he used his weight to pull it out of Rush's hands. Zeke took the final swing at Rush's neck and felt it connect with it's target.

* * *

**And that should be all for now, folks!**

**So, I thought this Friday the Thirteen bug stuff was a good idea. I started this on Friday the Thirteenth, after all. Leave me a review and message me if you want me to add something, add you, add a name. Whatever you want. I am open to any ideas and anything because I'm doing this for you and I enjoy doing it for you. Even though I don't have time, I try.**

**I hope you enjoyed and I hope you will stay tuned for more. Sorry for any time I'm late posting, because I know I will be late. I have test coming and past. I hate it and so do you, I'm sure...**

**So, since it's been a while, I figured to tell you what I've accomplished in the past month. So far, I've been publishing for the magazine and I've got the ending of the Blades of Alliance story plot complete. Mostly, I've just had school to deal with and I wish my computer was here so I could write for you wonderful people more. So, I am, again, sorry. Ugh, I hate apologizing so much.**

**LowePlays, signing out. Until next time! ... Which may be a while. I've been super busy.**


	22. Battle in the Trees

**Hey, guys. Sorry about my lack of content. I've been writing 50-250 words every 1 or 2 days. I've been busy with school work and, luckily, it's almost time for Winter Break. Maybe I'll be... No. I will publish more often. I'll get back on schedule and post every Sunday. I have to do this. Promise? I probably won't make it, but I definitely will try.**

**But, hey! At least this one is on time!**

**But enough of Me! Read on! Remember to leave a review and tell me what you want from me.**

* * *

The ending ring of a duel sounded and people were still coming into the arena to see a fight. Rush was at less than a fourth of health and a large cut was made over his neck. Due to rules of dueling, their wounds were healing and sealing. Zeke placed the Fang on his back and the hooks held the chains in place.

"Okay. You happy? Let's go back." Zeke pulled out a new teleport crystal and grabbed Rush's Katana and his sleeve. Once he pressed the teleport button, it shattered and the blue teleport Cloud covered them.

* * *

Elaine and Celeste's idea to explore the village was a good idea. Well, sort of. They found out many of the NPCs were hostile. It had been only about ten minutes since Zeke and Rush left, but the twelve left behind were quickly swarmed by the Mutant AI.

"God dammit! Why did those idiots have to leave at the time we were under attack?" [Dark_Hand] shouted angrily at the AI the entire time they were fighting, but this was the first time she had even said anything about Zeke or Rush. It was strange to hear her after she had spent so much time silent.

Kain had fought many monsters since the beginning of this game. It was harder to push AI off of a bridge than to simply kill it. Celeste and Elaine had both exhausted their magic, but they still fought with their staves. It was strange, seeing a few kids smacking adults with sticks, but it was okay when the adults are trying to bite your head off. They were going to be here a while if they didn't start doing something harsh. Silver was quickly running into being surrounded and Sadistic_Meatball was trying to push the AI off by hand. No matter how hard they swung, the wounds they inflicted vanished without a trace. No health was taken as they could only be harmed by monsters. Kain had knocked several over the edge, but they needed the power of a cannon to blast back the stream of hostile NPCs they had alerted.

Yuki-sempai was fighting next to Kain, a girl with blue hair and a long sword that had a blue tint to it. Kain defended the attack at close range while Yuki-sempai dealt with the attacks that were closer or long ranged. It was a working combo, and Kain liked her, but others were not as lucky to be paired like he was. [Dark_Hand] refused to pair with anyone, going alone. Silver had been separated from his partner, Sadistic_Meatball. Apollo19, an archer, was paired with Zach, the other archer and were having a hard time. KatGirl was a whirling tornado, scratching at any and every AI that dared step close enough, getting flung back by the sheer speed of her attacks. Man, it sucked being a guy sometimes.

Out of nowhere, a short spear sailed by, knocking an NPC off of the railing, then returning by chain. Rainbow_Unicornz caught the haft and twirled it around to impale the AI next to him. The lifeless human was quickly kicked away while it struggled to hit players with it's broom. Still, two more replaced each that fell. Like a hydra. Hydra. How did Hercules- No. That won't work. Where would burning them help? Kain had a hard time finding an idea that would work. If only monsters could harm the NPCs, they would need to find the dungeon entrance. That would require alerting every NPC and dragging a monster back to slaughter them like helpless rabbits. But they would need time to safely search for a small opening off of this treetop nightmare. If they had Rush or Zeke do that while they held the rest off, it would possibly work.

* * *

The returning teleport landed Rush and Zeke in front of the Inn they had been at less than ten minutes ago. Kain and the others were nowhere to be seen. They were heard, but the echos were tossed around and it could sound like KatGirl was right there or Kain was shouting something really far away. Left, right. Above, below. Near, far. The two left behind were lost and their friends could be right there.

Suddenly, a flash of orange lit up a tree. The sound and force of an explosive rolled over Zeke and Rush with a torrent of wind and sonic booms.

"Well, at least we know where the others are, huh? Could they refrain from completely destroying the place?" Zeke tossed Rush his Katana, who caught it and took off towards the blazing flames of one of the trees. Zeke was right behind him with the Dragon's Fang already in his hand.

When they rounded the corner, all they saw was a mass of crawling and fighting AI, all townsfolk.

"There's more," Rush complained. "I thought we had dealt with them all already. Do they ever die, anyways?"

"Who cares," Zeke said before diving into the masses, pushing non-humans off the sides one after another or simply smacking them with the curved edge. Their bodies held no real weight, not like human players. They were almost like rag dolls. Rush had his Katana swinging from one side to the other, it's bright red surface easily cutting the air. Zeke couldn't hear anything more than the AI's disconnected responses like, "Did you enjoy it?" or "Have a nice day!" right before they swung a bread loaf at you. Where were Kain and the others? And why did they attack so many NPCs in the first place?

From somewhere in the middle of the crowd was another explosion. It hit a few more trees, along with a bunch of the AI.

"Kain," Zeke shouted over the crowd and raised his crimson red blade. "Kain! We've returned and we'd rather not be blown up!" Another explosion sounded above a certain point, not really aimed anywhere. It was about 300 meters away, but it was as if it was a kilometer. The crowds were not butter. The blade may be red, but it wasn't hot...

An idea came to his head. It was one of his abilities, but it cost him a lot of Mana to use. He never was good with magic, but better now than later. As if it was a smoldering coal, the blade grew to a burning white hot. With a swing, he bicapitated one of the NPCs. It was like warm butter and a hot knife. Zeke prepared a six-strike skill at the same time. With the heat blocking the glow, Zeke couldn't tell whether it was red or blue. Flames licked the side as he rushed forward, slashing back and forth in a horizontal star shaped line. All around him, piles NPCs shattered into a million pieces, this time blue. It left a three meter hole in the ranks.

Preparing another two-strike skill, Zeke cut a straight line, then spun around to slice another. The burning blade was slicing as if it was cheese. The air itself burned away, leaving nothing but the NPCs to cut. As enjoyable it was to so freely cut away at the hostile AI, the glow had turned from a white to a bright orange. The broken crystals would not last much longer. Pulling the blade in front of himself, horizontally, he dashed forward. The sharp edge combined with heat was easily slicing away enemies upon contact. First ten meters, then twenty. Thirty. Forty.

The heat that was trapped inside the small crystal fragments ran out after fifty meters and the blade cooled rapidly, it's red color returning. The curved edge was still hot, but the ability to cut through enemies permanently was quickly fading. Once he had reached about seventy, maybe eighty meters, the blade simply knocked over the NPCs.

"Sorry," Zeke said, looking down at his blade. It's length was a sickly brownish red now and it was slightly warped. Smoke rose from the two edges. Using the mostly straight edge, he swung his pitiful blade at his enemies that blocked his path. He would reach his friends, with Rush defending his back. Hopefully.

* * *

Kain heard a different voice among the swarming attackers. It wasn't like the NPCs calm and cheerful voices, but a shout. Apollo19 was trying to blast away the NPCs with explosive arrows, but it was just too destructive. He was about to fire another when Kain saw a red blade rise from the NPCs while mid jump. None other had a blade like that. It was Zeke, here as they requested. With a stroke of genius, he pull Apollo's bow upwards, using his flexibility and speed, in the second that he fired, launching the arrow upward. Several meters above, it exploded and acted as a flare.

"What the hell? Those are really expensive!"

"Don't worry," Kain said. "Zeke's here as backup. How else is he supposed to find us unless we mark our position. He should find us now. I think he's two hundred, maybe two fifty meters away."

"Quit yapping and start slapping these guys," Sadistic_Meatball called to them, kicking another NPC away. "Until we're safe we can't let up."

With a nod all three split and fought their own fight, now centered towards Zeke's approximated position. They needed to have everyone here before they were overwhelmed.

Behind him, Kain heard a shout and turned to see Yuki-sempai fall, a plate having hit her like a Frisbee. Her health barely dropped, but it was a little less than half. [Dark_Hand] stepped over and beat the NPC with a stack of plates, but two NPCs entered the circle. From behind, one slashed Celeste with it's knife while the other raised it's urn. With a quick leap, Kain kicked the Urn, smashing the fragile pottery. His action saved Celeste, but another NPC entered the circle from Kain's opening. It was quickly blasted away with one of Silver's bullets, but Kain was busy with the current two NPCs. They were cornered against the bridge's edge.

With a flames lighting the side of a tree, it's fuel was growing spares. It needed more to stay as large as it was. Traveling downwards with crackles and pops, a loud and clear snapping noise cut through the air. Every single moving thing looked up to see a tree tilting towards them. It was a falling, burning, and not to mention, huge half of a tree falling towards them.

"Towards the tree," an unknown male shouted. "Grab the trunk!" Being the only hope they had they followed the voice towards the tree, pushing and punching NPCs away. Kain leapt from shoulder to shoulder of the NPCs, jumping faster than they fell. They were almost there when Kain remembered.

"Wait," he called. "What about Zeke? He won't know what to do if we leave."

"No time," the male voice shouted. Not willing to leave behind a friend, Kain jumped back onto the back of an NPC and gracefully watched his step. He looked up as burning splinters began raining down to see the top of the tree horizontally parallel to the ground. Loud creaking and snapping was heard from above and the began it's long descent. Kain saw Zeke's goggles and black coat, but his graceful blade was nowhere to be seen, replaced by a brown one. Rush was right next to him. Every NPC around was trying to get at their clothes, weapons, necks, anything. Would he make it in time, before the tree fell?

* * *

Zeke heard the loud snap at the same time as the others and understood faster than them. He knew he had little time to grab hold to some form of rope or anything to grapple himself to the stable parts of the tree top city. Above, other levels were stationed, several tens of meters higher. Then he remembered Rush.

"Rush! Where are you? Ru-ush!" He swung his warped blade at another NPC to hold them at bay. There were enough for himself to deal with, barely. His health was dropping, but slowly. The attacks did little damage.

"Zeke? Yeah, I'm here!" Zeke saw a two-handed Katana rise from the crowd, only to come back down. It was maybe twenty meters away. He would make it. Leaping as high as a dragoon, he came crashing down with the exact location of his fellow Guild Member. He had only leapt forward six or seven meters and he was still surrounded by AI. This was difficult as it was.

Using his final amount of power, Zeke activated his only AoE attack. With a fast spin, the blade glowed a bright pale blue. In a whirl of blue, black, and red, the nearest meter of NPCs were smacked away. Zeke almost lost his weakened blade halfway through his attack, but kept a tight grip all the same. When the attack finished, Rush was there, fighting back the human-looking entities.

"Glad I could make it to the party," He breathed, blocking a spoon to the heart. "What happened to your sword there?"

"I used a little backup. It ruined it. I'll have to reconstruct it again."

"Is that what happened to Dragon's Blood? Is The Dragon's Fang the Dragon's Blood?"

"In- In a way," Zeke replied, beating back a mass of NPCs. They couldn't dispose of them as the edge was meters away. A few crackles and groans above made them glance. The tree was parallel to the ground. "I used a blacksmith to repurpose it after what happened to it." No sword can survive a bent blade and live with it.

"Are you guys going to get outta the way," Kain asked, dropping in from kicking an NPC in the face.

"Kain," Zeke said, happy to see his friend. "Tell me the others are safe. Then help us to the edge of the bridge."

"They're safe. Just come on!" The tree was falling now, signalling it's descent after a mighty loud crack! "Come on!" Kain leapt with the grace of an assassin and jumped from AI to AI construct. Zeke followed on a different group with Rush stepping on the backs of the already fallen NPCs. Closer and closer the massive tree fell.

"Kain," Zeke shouted. "We won't make it! We have to grab the sides! I have a plan!" With a leap across the gap Kain had made, left to right, Zeke started a new path. "Come on, Rush." Kain saw his friends move towards the empty edge of the bridge. Was that their plan? To die? Following his friend's instinct, he turned and saw the whole of it.

Zeke landed on the last NPC until the abyss lay before them. Rush stopped right of him.

"Grab the rope further down. Away from the tree." Kain landed his humanoid surf board to the left of Zeke. "You too. Go farther down the rope. Don't let go. What ever you do, don't let go. We have seconds." The tree fell at terminal velocity towards them. After little hesitation and time to process, all three were spaced out about two meters from each other. With a quick slash of his ruined blade, he severed the rope a meter away from him and a large amount of the support ropes. Then, they fell.

* * *

In some twist of luck, all three survived. They were below the mist, a hundred meters or more below the city they had destroyed. The bridge was split in half and the thick wood that had held them minutes before was now gone, along with all the Mutant AI. There would be none left. Below, Zeke saw nothing. Nor could he see anything above. The Mist hid everything but his hands and the rope in front of him.

"Are you guys okay up there? Because I'm fine." He looked up but still couldn't even see Rush's shoes.

"Yeah," Rush called down. "You still there? I can't even see my feet."

"I'm fine, too. And I can't see a thing either." Kain was always like that...

This was a life or death situation and he was acting like he was left out.

* * *

**Okay. I'm gonna call it here.**

**Sorry about the whole ending it here, but I am working on the next chapter already. Cool for me.**

**Aren't you glad I posted on a Sunday like I'm supposed to? Look, I'm sorry to my readers that I haven't been posting like usual. But that's the last apology. Now, I shall try harder to get good content out on time. I've put aside homework and studying over Christmas, because who wants to? Just know that I'm still alive and posting. **

**For those who follow me on Google Plus, you'll know that I am trying to work on a big project. My computer was delayed and stuff, but once it gets here, be prepared for more content and I will immediately start the final touches on my big project. I promise that's what's going to happen. Just please wait... HALF A FREAKIN' YEAR!? Yeah, it's been a long time since I moved and I've been neglecting to update the story of me and Zeke's. **

**Anyways, until next time! LowePlay, signing out!**


	23. Lost Friends (Can't find 'em)

**Hey! Good news! I got my computer here! Now I can get more words out every day. No more with this hundred words a day. Now I can really write! Still, I do have a new project; YouTube! I'm now on YouTube to read this story online. If you want, my name is Nick Zephyr Lowe and you can search me up to listen to it. I would hope you would search for it, maybe share it? I really need some support with this. This is a serious thing here. But I still love you guys for sticking with me for these long few months, and more than that, for even reading this story of mine. I really enjoy writing these chapters for you guys.**

**But enough of me! Read on and enjoy!**

* * *

"It's good to know you're there Kain, but can you start climbing? I'm hanging here by only my one hand." Zeke still had the ruined Fang out, but it was hideous to wear on his back. The look of dried blood was putrid and the edge was bent and curved at strange angles. He would have to either fix the Fang, but the option of creating a new blade from the left over material was available. Just as he had done with the Dragon's Blood.

"Well, I could, but there is the fact that I can barely see the rope as it is. How can I climb if I don't know where said rope is supposed to be?" Zeke placed his sword on the hooks attached to his coat.

"Just start climbing," he called back. "Be careful though. I'd rather not lose you." To Rush he said a similar thing. The rope quickly began to sway and shake, almost to the point where Zeke could have fallen. Game mechanics allowed their Strength to come in handy and firmly grip the rope, saving their lives.

"Are you much higher?" Zeke was cautious, but tentatively reached out with one hand, leaving his right arm to grip the rope as he searched higher.

"We- We've made it... maybe half a meter higher?" It was Rush's voice that sounded through the mist. Zeke still felt higher, going about ten centimeters higher. The rope nearly reached his calfs and he gripped the rope with his thighs. The twisted fibers swayed heavily. The sense of impending doom was pressing against him as he reached up again, this time a bit faster now that he had real support. He was hardly tired, but he knew he would be.

Hand over hand, the three climbed. They had no idea where any of them were. They almost couldn't see themselves. The mist and the rope were really the only things around them. It was also claustrophobic. With a pressure. Zeke never really was the kind to be afraid of small places. He liked shorter women because of it. But here? It was almost maddening to be trapped in this damp hell. Hand over hand.

"Can you see anything yet," Zeke called for the fourth time. His arms felt like lead, and, while light, his armor felt as heavy as a knight's suit of steel. He didn't have any real footholds except when the rope occasionally bumped into the trees. The moist air hung on everything and soaked them, making their clothes feel heavier.

"No, but I swear it's getting brighter." Kain had been giving reports since he was highest, but he was getting bored and tired from their prolonged exercise.

"So, have any of you guys actually climbed a rope before in Real life," Rush asked to ease the tension, still climbing.

"I haven't," Zeke said, pulling himself up higher. "But I've tried before a few times."

"I don't think so, but I have been rock climbing," Kain stated, launching into a story. "When I was a kid, I was a lot more physically active. I think a lot of kids are. Me and my two sisters..." For several minute, Kain rambled about going to some mountain in Italy or Austria and skiing and climbing up a sheer cliff. Zeke listened to it only to numb the pain.

Suddenly, in the middle of the climax of Kain's story, he stopped and gasped. "What is it, Kain?!" Zeke tried to see something ahead, but nothing could be seen through the fog. All he could do was ask.

"I could see the trees for a second! I've never seen such a beautiful green. I swear by Mother Russia!" Kain never swears by Mother Russia. Shuffling up the rope, both Rush and Zeke tried to rise without pulling the other off.

"How close are we, Kain," Rush asked. The swaying had resumed, but it wasn't as shaky as when they had begun. They had to be close. Hand over hand.

"I'd say about several meters still," Kain said after a while. Zeke and Rush both groaned and continued to climb, their arms and legs hurting and almost numb. The dim sunlight that shone through the leaves was beginning to break through the mist, revealing their shadowy positions. They were about a meter from each other.

The three were all tired. They weren't the most athletic people. They never participated in many sports, as they had found out. Still, when faced with death, they were willing to climb the many meters until they finally breached the cover of thick and choking mist.

"Finally," Kain gasped and gulped down a breath of fresh forest air. Rush was next, hitting Kain's shoe, who had stopped to breathe.

"Can this wait... like, until we're safe?"

"Right," Kain said and continued to climb the remaining ten or so meters to the nearest Treetop house. Zeke finally poked his goggles out from the mist.

"Are we there yet," he groaned, leaning into the rope, causing it to sway slowly. With little rope left, any movements held little torque to really swing.

"C'mon Zeke. Just a few more meters." Rush's comforting words caused Zeke to cry out, faking his disparity. "Really Zeke? Just climb, you baby." Coming from someone who was recently defeated by the now destroyed blade Zeke carried, he was a good deal humbler.

After many more pulls from his exhausted arms, Zeke was the last over the window that was opened by Kain. It was lucky that the house was even close enough to be opened. The three all laid there on the floor, heavily breathing the woody air and could hardly move their arms now they had laid down.

"Can you move?"

"No."

"Me neither." All three could have paralysis effects on them and nothing would happen. Their virtual bodies were at their limit, but regenerating slowly. Sleep was probably the best way to spend their time. And so, slowly, all three closed their eyes in the emptied house. Every NPC in the town had been destroyed and sent to the void. They would be safe. Probably.

* * *

The light coming through the open window was dim and deep orange, filtering through the tall branches above. Zeke felt very strained and his entire body hurt. He'd never felt like this before and he hated the feeling.

"Ugh," Kain groaned, sitting up. "I thought this was supposed to be a video game. Why does it hurt like this?"

"You too," Zeke asked, who was still laying on the floor. "I feel like absolute crap right now."

"Your telling me? I feel like I was hit by a truck. Twice."

"Can someone knock me out," Rush asked. He was propped on his elbows and holding his side. His eyes and face said he was in pain as well.

"I think we can make it. It's not supposed to hurt us IRL at least. It will probably disappeared in a few hours anyways." Zeke was struggling to stand up, but his legs and arm, not to mention his core, were all sore and the pain was like this was all real. Even the feeling of his sword biting into his back. "Does anyone have a read on Silver or Elaine? We need to meet back up."

"Well, I have Yuki-Sempai's location," Kain said, turning so no one could see the slight blush on his face. Zeke, luckily, wasn't even facing him.

"Good," Zeke said, looking through his own menus. "Could you find her and tell me the location of her and the group? I'd rather get out of this place quickly. It's weird sleeping in others' houses."

"Yeah, uh, sure." Kain opened his friends list and looked down at the roster. Quickly, he pressed the locate button next to Yuki-Sempai. A map appeared next to the menu and the world loaded in. "The good news is that the group is still on this floor," He reported. "But the bad news is my map doesn't cover much of anything but this town. They're in the dungeon at the moment."

"Well, what do we do now? We can't just walk into a dungeon." Rush was now sitting against the wall while Kain and Zeke stood. Zeke turned to Rush.

"Yes we can," he said. "We have to find our friends and quickly. We don't know what's going on and we need to be together. Plus we are more than strong enough to find them. Remember, this is time for speed, not strength unless necessary. Are you guys with me?"

"Do you really have to ask us? Of course we're with you. We just are a bit scared of what's out there. Plus, what about your sword? It's been damaged, meaning that your attack is reduced. We can't afford to lose you. Among other things." Kain opened his menu. "Here. Take this blade. It might be shorter than what your used to, but it will work just the same." Zeke took the short silver sword from Kain's hands. It was maybe a half meter, barely more than a dagger than a sword. It was light and agile, but it lacked the power he was used to, leaving Zeke feeling like it wasn't enough.

"Don't you have anything heavier? It's too light for me." Zeke knew he was pushing it a bit. Kain was already generous enough simply giving him a blade. Kain looked through his menus for anything more, but he shook his head for a no. "Well, this will do then. In the mean time, Let's just get out of here. We don't have forever." Zeke removed his broken sword from his back and stored it in his inventory. It would have to rest there for a while, at least until it was repaired or reforged. Without it's weight, he almost lost his balance. He then strapped the blade horizontal onto his lower back. It was unfamiliar there, but it was still a weapon by any other means. When they were all prepared, the group moved up the stairs and walked out of the empty house.

* * *

They had searched all over the town, but nothing seemed to be a dungeon entrance. The treetops were simply houses, shops, inns, and other building. Every single one was empty. There were other players searching around for the missing NPCs, but since every single one had been destroyed, the trading had evaporated. Several recognized them and excitedly tried to talk to them, saying they were the best and asked how to improve their skills and stats. It was all very annoying when their time was short.

"Just go away. We're on a timed quest. You can ask us about this later, but we need to go," Zeke said, a bit frustrated. Even with his words, the crowds hardly dispersed. He turned to his friends now, left with one option. "Let's go guys. Up." With that, all three jumped several meters high, Kain reaching an impressive nine meters. When they were airborne, Zeke and the others twisted and launched themselves over the crowd. With a light tap, they all landed lightly. Once on the ground, they all ran as quickly as they could, Kain in the lead with his speed stats. Zeke was right behind him and Rush was close. They were lucky to escape.

It was while they were running they found the entrance. In a blur to everyone else, onlookers would be surprised they saw anything. Having higher perception skills was vital and more important than simply throwing and shooting. It allowed the user of these passive skills to see more than one usually did. With pinpoint accuracy, they all stopped next to each other right out side of the gaping hole in a tree, leading down to the ground safely.

"Are you guys ready." Zeke asked his friends. In response, they drew their weapons. "Good. Then let's go. We're already drawing a few fans." With a quick step, the three disappeared into the tree to find their friends. The darkness curled around them as they ran down the spiraling staircase. At whiplash speeds, they jumped down four or five at a time.

* * *

**Thanks guys for reading this far into the story! I know I like to keep these as long as possible, but I'm really excited to do other thing. I've got a lot of things I want to do and not much knowledge on how to do it. But I will know soon! If you see me up on YouTube, don't be afraid to subscribe, maybe share my channel with others who enjoy fanfiction. I'm really happy to be writing for you guys, all because you don't pressure me to do it. I do it because I like to, which is the only reason that I do. And it makes me happy to have people even reading this far.**

**Now, Zeke is without the famous Dragon Blade. It's broken. I felt sorry for it, but I know too much from metalworking class. I could never heat up a blade that hot and keep it's original form. And they have to travel through the dungeons to find the rest of Blades of Alliance. This would be an epic ending reuniting, but I just felt like this had to be the ending for today. **

**And aren't you happy I uploaded on time?**

**Until next time! LowePlays, signing out! Stay fierce.**


	24. Yellow Birds of Pain

**Hey-o! I've been super busy testing and experimenting with my new computer, but from now on, and I regret to say it, Blades of Alliance will be coming out at a slower rate. Good news is, I may have a partnership for my new project. It's super secret, but hopefully my application will be accepted and I will be able to start the new project a bit quicker. That's my only problem.**

**Now, we left off with Zeke and crew entering the stairwell out of the city in search of their friends. Don't worry, because Zeke is coming to the rescue! I do have a whole plan written out for the next few chapters, but if you want to add something, feel free to drop a review. I'll try to add it in quickly. You are the most important part of this, after all this time.**

**But enough of me! Read on and enjoy!**

* * *

The steep descent to the dungeon was longer than Zeke expected. The only good part, which there was some, was that the sharp curve was expanding as the tree did, giving them more room and maneuverability to ease the climb. Their feet pounded down step by step and they held a hand on their weapons. They were in the wilderness now, after all.

"How tall can this tree be?!" Rush was lagging a bit behind and was carrying the heaviest armor, making him complain more and trip often.

"It's more than a kilometer, that's for sure," Zeke called back. "I think it's bigger than three, maybe. It is pretty large. I've never really ever climbed so many stairs." It was true that they were all breathing hard and rightfully so. Maybe bringing a sled would have been better. And much more efficient.

"Well, I'm not complaining about this. It's good for the mind, you know. Exercise is important. So pick up the pace!"

"Shut up, Kain. Or do you want to roll down these stairs?"

"Nah, I'm cool. Although it may be faster than you guys." Zeke turned around suddenly and grabbed Kain's cloak. He used it to pull Kain off balance and sent him rolling down the stairs, looking like he was taking it horribly.

"Well, that's over with," Zeke said. He started the running down the stairs two or three at a time. "We should probably catch up with him before he gets too far away."

"Don't you think that was a little harsh?"

"No, not really. He's been annoying me for a while. It had to be done." Zeke shifted the blade on his lower back. Rush didn't respond for a while and all the sounds that were present was Kain's tumbling and Rush's armor shifting. Their footsteps were light and made very little sound.

"You know something, Zeke," Rush asked. "You've changed since the beginning. You seem more steeled, maybe more mature. You just aren't the same guy I asked to party with that first day." They both stopped. Kain's tumbling noises had faded out and it was silent. "You were like an excited kid, just like me. I may not know you in the real world, but I know you better than a lot of other people do. Kain is a cool guy, a bit older than I thought I'd find a friend in. I enjoy being with you guys and I like the guild. I really want to meet you guys in the Real World. But, there are days when I think it would take a long time to get up there. We're only on floor thirteen and it's been months since the beginning! So, in case we do make it, you have to promise me this; Drop the edge and relax. Go back to the way you were." Zeke stared up at Rush with a straight face.

"You've changed too. You're not the same newbie I met that day. But I promise to try. I'll try to be nicer."

"And maybe you might actually try to go for [Dark_Hand]. Seriously try. I know you like her more than you show and you should really go for her." Zeke blushed slightly at being called out on it. He knew he shouldn't be embarrassed about it, because he never really hid it very well. It was a good thing [Dark_Hand] never really gossiped.

"I-I will try. Promise."

"Good. Now let's go find Kain. I can't hear him anymore, so he might have already reached the bottom already." Rush, who was now rested, started jumping down the stairs. Zeke thought for a moment before following Rush down the steps. From down below, Kain's voice called out.

"He says he found the bottom! We're super close!" Rush was a few several meters below, but Zeke was right behind him, leaping down the wooden interior of the giant tree.

* * *

The stairway opened up on a dark and dank forest floor. The mist above, along with branches and leaves, all blocked all the sunlight. Only a lit torch near the exit illuminated the area. The mildewy smell filled the air and Zeke breathed it all in, deeply. They still had a ways to go.

"There's one thing I don't get," Rush said, shifting his weapon. "Why was that city built so high in the air? A simple tree house a hundred meters would be just as well as the thousand meters we just climbed down. God, that sucked." With shrugs from both Kain and Zeke, signalling they didn't know, they set off towards the coordinates their friends were last. They were still a while away.

Suddenly, but expected, a small and surprisingly healthy sapling moved once the trio moved too close. The Ent was like the one they had encountered months ago in the boss room. The level was even similar now to that boss. Zeke had a hard time remembering that first boss. With a quick swipe, he drew the sheathed blade across the wooden face of the monster. It wailed and swiped at Zeke, who expertly dodged it easily. It seemed so slow now. Rush came from behind and struck with his Katana and severed the left arm of the Living Wood. Kain lept in and kicked it in the head when it turned to attack the new threat. The impact sent it to the ground.

"This seems too easy now. How long has it been now?" Zeke stabbed the shorter blade into the remaining arm it had and severed that one too. "Well, who wants the last strike?" The Akon had no arms, leaving it no way to get up. They had only one way to really help it now. Rush stepped forward and raised his two handed weapon up and decapitated the wooden being. It's body exploded into a bunch of blurry pixels.

_Congratulations__, MetalDargon!_

_Gil: 1738_

_EXP: 2900_

_Item: Akon Wood, Wooden Scrap_

"What should we do with the head? It's still here." Rush kicked the wooden decapitated head and it rolled onto the stump. Zeke bent down and picked the wooden mass up by the branch with one hand. He used his spare hand to open a skill. He then tapped the head with a glowing finger.

"It says it isn't worth much, but it does make a great helm. We should probably take it to a blacksmith after we meet up with the rest of the group. It could be worth it." Zeke closed the inspection window and stored the head in his storage. It was the same animation every time, now seeming normal every time he saw it. The blue comet soared around him and were stored in the inventory window. For anyone newer, they would still be amazed as Zeke had been his first month. The fact that their inventories were limited to weight as well made the game even more amazing.

"So, how far away are we," Zeke asked Kain, who was looking at some of the scattered twigs. "Kain? C'mon and open up the map. You have the best tracking of the rest of the group right now and we don't know if the group is any sort of danger. We need to get going now. Where are they?"

"Well, uh," Kain mumbled as he opened his menu and navigated to the tracking map. "If we want to make it, we need some real speed. And now. They're about to enter the boss room and the shared data I just received say... It's just bad. We might not even make it over there. It's so far..." Kain just was pale and he was scared. This was very bad. Their friends could be moments away from death? That wasn't possible with them. Rush smirked mockingly and smug.

"What are you planning, Rush?" Zeke was immediately suspicious of the red haired kid who was as mischievous as always. "You're not going to do anything crazy, are you?" Rush opened his menu and reequipped some skills he's bought a little while ago.

"Behold. I can get us to the in no time," he said preparing to cast the spell. Zeke and Kain alike walked up to Rush and smacked him in the back of the head, interrupting his hand motions.

"You're saying-" Zeke started.

"That you had-"

"A direct teleport-"

"This whole time?!" Their back to back synced sentence was punctuated with one last word.

"You idiot!" Both the top ranked players punched Rush. Kain punched in the gut while Zeke went for the face. Rush took the full force without having time to blink and fell backwards.

"Hold up! I never said anything about an instant teleport. It's just a summoning spell." Zeke and Kain stopped their advance and motioned for him to continue. "Watch." He held up his hands and drew a circle and a few symbols in the air. Suddenly, the air he touched turned to a swirling mass of yellow and white feathers. A loud bang sounded and a big yellow bird appeared. And it wasn't from Sesame Street. Two more bangs and there was another yellow and a cream colored one. "Behold! Our rides to the dungeon boss."

* * *

The ride on the back of a bird left Zeke's back hurting and a rubbed burn between his legs. So much for Rush's genius idea. The only good news was the birds were fast. They traveled over several meters per second and were almost like a car. Except there was more pain. There was only downside to using the birds. They were weak in defense and their summoning requirements were insane. It was almost like this floor was the only one the giant birds were available in. As soon as Zeke jumped off the Yellow bird, it started running again and disappeared in the brown and green forest.

"Can we never ride animals again? I thing I'm cool with riding in a car or even a wagon." Zeke rubbed the sore spots on his thighs. "Your genius plan sucked Rush. Mostly." At least they made it in a relatively short amount of time. It had maybe been half an hour of riding on those beasts. The cave they had arrived at was dark and the rim dripped water off of stalactites due to the nearby swamp. None of them were even ready to walk yet.

"Yeah, I think I'm with you in that one. Rush, you suck." Kain was holding the inside of his legs like Zeke and most of his outer gear had been removed to free up weight pressing on his legs. Even his blade was back in his inventory because the strap wrapped around his thigh. Rush seemed to be regretting his idea as well, but he seemed better off. His back was straight and he wasn't just sitting against with his hands between his legs like Zeke or Kain.

"Well, if we need to get to them as quick as possible, we need to leave now. Quit whining. It isn't _that_ bad." Kain showed him his bird. "Fine, it does hurt a bit. And I don't think I ever want to ride one ever again. Haven't you ever ridden a horse before?" Zeke shook his head and rested his head on his knees. He'd thought about riding a horse before, but if it was like riding a forest bird, he didn't regret not doing it. Screw those horses.

It took a good several long minutes for the pain to subside enough for them to stand, but the raw skin burned as it rubbed against the sides of his black jeans. He groaned and his hand grabbed for his missing blade by his shoulder. He hated how the game only blocked monster inflicted pain.

"There must be a way for someone to access the code, right? I want those birds to be monsters so this didn't hurt as real as it does. Damn those stupid birds!" Zeke punch the ground.

"C'mon, Mr. Dragon. Leet's a go no. Before anything too bad happens." Rush turned to Kain. "Get up and let's go. It'll heal if you just drink a health potion." Why hadn't he thought of that? He didn't take any damage, but the potion accelerates healing speeds. Zeke withdrew one of his and uncorked it. It tasted like bland juice, but it was tolerable. The spots on his legs that hurt started to glow with a red light. It felt better quickly.

"Alright! We're heading down there! The road should be clear of mobs since the rest of Blades of Alliance already went through here. They should have already have killed them all." Kain was busy drinking his own potion while Rush walked towards the entrance. Zeke followed. The usual giant pillar was replace by a giant tree, but Zeke didn't care. He just want his friends to be safe.

* * *

The maze took several minutes, close to an hour before they made it to the top, their legs healed by the potions. The doors stared blankly at the tree. It was already closed and the sounds of fighting were heard from inside. The maze was made easier thanks to Kain's map, but that didn't make it a walk in the park. The had to fight a few stragglers and they were all high leveled. It was a mystery how the group made it through all these monsters. It was difficult for the three of them alone.

"Alright. Are you ready? The moment we step in there, we need to assist our friends and, if we can't get the heck out of there. I don't want to see anyone dead because we weren't good enough. You ready? Because you should be." Zeke drew the long dagger Kain had given him and he opened the doors with his shoulder. Inside was a horrifying sight.

No one was dead, thankfully, but half of their members were lying unconscious around the edges. Their bodies each had several slashed from the Satyr fighting a few men in dark armor and cloaks. They all relied mostly on speed it appeared. The worst part was their shields, who were the remaining members of Blades of Alliance. Zeke watched as one held up Sadistic_Meatball to take the Satyr's blade for him. The blade sunk in, but effectively stopped the blade. His groan and yell were all that the three needed.

"Go get the rest out of here. I'll deal with them." Zeke held up his short blade and advanced. The fighters hadn't noticed them come in yet. Kain grabbed his shoulder.

"What about the boss? You can't possibly take both on at once. It'll be suicide. We'll help you fight. We're your friends." Zeke turned around.

"No! I need you to get the others out of their in one piece. We can't do that if we're all fighting. And don't worry too much about me. I've got a plan." Zeke didn't wait to hear a response and lowered his red goggles over his eyes. He didn't care about dying right now. He'd gladly die if it meant saving his friends. He wouldn't just sit back while he knew he could do something. He quickly checked his skills and activated a few active ones like Extreme Speed. He wouldn't have time to use them during battle. Then he switched to his equipment screen.

"Hey," Zeke called out to them, loudly. It was enough to distract one of them enough to give the Satyr boss time to swing his blade and smack him away. He looked like the rest of Blades of Alliance. "Who are you guys?"

"We should be asking the same question," one in a full cloak said, blocking the Sword from cleaving him in two. "We're Guiding Hand, the assassin guild. We were hired to take out the Blood Red Dragon and his guild. We just decided to ask for their help. This boss battle shouldn't be much longer. Then we can talk if you want to join." The man turned back to killing the goat man. Zeke walked up behind them and kicked one directly into the falling blade of the boss. It gave the assassin little time to react and he had lost grip on Yuki-Sempai. The diagonally falling curved blade bisected the man and he was killed. He wouldn't be waking up after that. Ever.

"Hey! Who are you, thinking you can just kill one of my men like that?!" The man in the full cloak seemed to be the leader, so he would be the next target. Plus he was holding [Dark_Hand] to cover himself.

"I am the Blood Red Dragon. You've attacked my guild and that is unforgivable. I just returned the favor. Now back away and nothing else will happen. I'll even pay you if you want."

"You? You're our target? That's unreal." He easily parried a stab from the boss. "That'll make this easy! I'll just kill you now! Boys! Keep the goat busy until I finish this punk." Jumping away from the boss, the leader of Guiding Hand turned to face Zeke. He still held onto [Dark_Hand] and used her as his shield.

"Drop her. That's wrong, using a human meat shield."

"No, I don't think so." He laughed. "I think you look ridiculous and that's wrong. So get a new face!" The black cloaked man raised his serrated scimitar to slash at Zeke's torso. In a blink of an eye, Zeke moved as fast as he could possibly move, fighting to go faster. He used the dagger to stab at the man's left arm, but the man was also face. Zeke was barely able to stop a hair's width from hitting [Dark_Hand]. He then received a punch to the bridge of his nose. A sharp crack rang out, but the pain was almost nonexistent to Zeke. He didn't have time for pain.

Using a skill, the dagger glowed a bright lapis color. It moved at the man's body. The cloaked man moved his shield into place, but Zeke continued forward. Pulling the blade, he intentionally hit the girl he liked. The blade was long enough to reach the cloaked man and the tip punctured his right lung. It wasn't much damage, as most of the momentum was lost in [Dark_Hand]'s back. It wasn't a major hit, but he still felt the guilt he should.

"Would you look at that! You've actually hit the girl! Now that I'm looking at her closely, I think I like her more when she's in pain. She is pretty cute, too. I think I'll keep her alone alive. The rest of you can just die!" He laughed and he pressed a healing crystal to her breasts. "Oh, these are soft. I'm definitely keeping her for later. We'll have tons of fun!"

"You're insane. Just drop it. I'll pay you to stop."

"Oh, but I don't do that. I always finish my jobs. But I'll accept your money when you're dead." He looked at [Dark_Hand] and considered something. Then he full on kissed her unconscious lips.

"Stop it," Zeke shouted.

"Oh, you like this one? Maybe I should..." He roughly grabbed one of her breasts and she groaned. "This!"

"Stop!" Zeke drew a symbol in the air and cast an air spell. A breeze picked up and grabbed at [Dark_Hand], but the man's grip was tight, not to mention Zeke's magic skills sucked.

"Oh, no. That's not how you play this game! You're just a big cheater." _Game? Cheater? This guy is insane!_

* * *

**Alright. I thought I'd write a bit of a longer chapter for you guys and I hoped you enjoyed. Leave a review if you did enjoy it. I did have Guiding Hand based off of the Laughing Coffin, but this was a bit different. The Coffin didn't really torture their victims, nor were there any in it who killed for money. No bounty hunters.**

**Next time, [Dark_Hand] and the others are capture and Zeke is fighting the leader of the Guiding Hand. It will be an epic showdown. I do hope you'll read and enjoy the 25th chapter to this long and interesting story I came up with a year ago. I will be editing the second and third chapter soon, so feel free to reread that one for funsies.**

**But I've gotta jet. LowePlays, signing out!**


	25. Dragon Breath

**Welcome back! I'm finished with the next chapter here and I do hope you enjoy it. I'm tired from the weekend, but I'm officially releasing my big Project! I've started my own YouTube Channel! If you search BloodRedDragon and change the filter to Channels, you'll find me. But the story was a bit harder to write since I'm running into a fight between wanting to write or record. I am going to record a new reading episode soon, but that's later and not many people who wanted to hear it even looked at it. So that hurt.**

**Zeke does get injured. That's the only spoiler.**

**But enough! Read on and Enjoy!**

* * *

Zeke didn't like being called a cheater. He wasn't called one often. He hated people who rage quit and people who talk way too big. Now comes this guy, completely insane, calling him a cheater? That is just unacceptable. Zeke raised the silver dagger above his head and stabbed the short blade into this laughing murderer before he had time to respond or dodge. The first message he'd received in a long time appeared to tell him, if he attacked again, the orange orb near his name and health bar would turn red and he would be labeled a murder. The leader barely reacted other than quick and deep breathes and a grimace.

"Now that was a good move. Waiting until I was distracted by laughter to strike? Very brilliant. But now it's my turn." The man held his serrated blade at six o'clock, towards the ground, and a skill was activated. He pulled the girl in similar black closer to himself. A light grey glow began to come from the sword and the man vanished. He reappeared after he'd stabbed Zeke through the arm, the same spot. It was worse when the blade was pulled free. It felt like something bite him very quickly and painfully. "Now doesn't that feel great?," he said over my groans of pain. "You get to feel my delicious pain!"

"You're a sadistically maniac. I really hate people like you." The silver blade whipped up and nicked the man's face. "Who are you?" The man felt the cut while he spoke.

"Oh, I'm glad you ask! I am Zept. Also known as the shadow. I do like being fast. Just watch." The man named Zept suddenly vanished and a few cuts appeared before he reappeared himself. He licked his sword of the fake blood there. His tongue snake-like and long, disturbing Zeke further. The black cloak that covered him hid his eyes and hair. He couldn't see what he was think, though trying to think like a mentally insane man was dangerous. It was almost impossible, really.

"You're insane. That's really disgusting, you know?" The man just laughed hard and dropped all signs of fighting. He looked like he was done fighting. But how could Zeke forgive him? The man named Zept had kidnapped many of his guild and had injured most of them. And he had injured [Dark_Hand] the most, not to mention was... felt. He didn't care about the bad sportsmanship of the move. He didn't care if he was called a murderer for a while. Raising his blade offhand, he struck at Zept.

With lightning fast reaction speed, Zept caught the blade in the serrated edge of his blade and twisted. The dagger Kain had given him was ripped free from his hands and it skitted across the stone floor.

"Why do you still attack me when I still have your friend here? You'll kill her if you hit her again. I know you don't want to, so why not just give up and let me kill you! I'll go easy on you. I'll only kill you a little bit!" [Dark_Hand] suddenly moved while in Zept's grip and drew her shortsword. She swung her sword at the assassin at high speed, cleaving off his entire left forearm. She immediately jumped back to avoid his right handed swing, now freed.

"Sorry about leaving you hanging on your own," she said to Zeke. "By the way, my sword is longer than yours." Red rushed to Zeke's face and he turned away. And for the first time, Zeke heard her laugh. It wasn't long or loud. It was a simple one breath laugh, but a laugh all the same. And it was kinda cute coming from her.

"Now, now. You've just chopped off my arm, my furture wife. I don't think that was very nice of you. That actually hurt. For that, I do believe some payback is in store for you. Threefold!" In the span of a few milliseconds, both black-clad warriors dissapeared and the sound of clashing blades rang out again and again. Zeke could barely see them moving and the control they had while doing it was insane. It gave Zeke one of the only opportunity to get his weapon back. Watching the two, he carefully moved the four meters to the silver dagger.

"Look out!" Zeke barely had time to turn to be hit from a falling [Dark_Hand]. They tumbled a bit and Zeke landed on top of her.

"A-are you alright," Zeke asked. They had hit pretty hard.

"Get off of me. You're... touching me... down there." Zeke pulled his hand free from underneath him and rolled off of [Dark_Hand]. His face was red and he wanted to appologize. He opened his mouth to say.

"Well, it looks like you're getting a bit too frisky with my girl. Creator Adament? Why couldn't you have blocked others from touching my girl? Geez. Well, you, Blood Red Dragon, will have to pay for that. So, come on and get on up! I'm having too much fun!" Zeke withdrew a health potion from his inventory. His last potion.

"Here," he said, giving it to [Dark_Hand]. His own health was much higher than hers. The health above her head showed she had less than 150 health of her pool, leaving almost a sliver of it left. She would not last more than a hit or two. She needed it more than him. His health was at three fifths or maybe half? It was hard to tell, but it was still better than her's.

"Um, thanks. But if you're going to fight him, don't you need it?"

"Thanks for your concern, but I'm fine. I'll kill him quickly. You just drink that."

"Okay!" Zept was getting impatient. "You're lucky I let you live for that. But you really are interesting. Commiting suicide isn't really that rare though." He pulled his blade up to his face and grinned. The sounds of people fighting was still ringing out, but it seemed that it was Kain's and Rush' voices in the mass. Zeke picked up his own short blade and held it upright. He was still uncomfortable with it's short reach, but he was perfectly aware that he held the only weapon he owned.

"I'm ready," he said. He pulled back his blade, putting it behind himself. It activated a skill, bathing the silver blade is white light. With a sharp leap, he allowed his movements flow and he felt the quick piercing attack hit home. The stab went through armor and flesh, lodging in Zept's arm. He quickly pulled back the blade and leaped back, barely missing the downward swing of the serrated blade.

"You're good. Better than I expected. But how could a Dragon have such a weak claw? You must be a little hatchling. For injuring me, I'll have to punish you!" Zept vanished and the sounds of his movement were all around Zeke. Suddenly, a cut appeared on his right shoulder. A large one that reached down to almost sever his arm. "Hmm," Zept said, reappearing in front of Zeke. "It seems I didn't get a clear cut. I must have been going to fast to really aim." Zeke was furiously moving his free left hand in a fixed symbol.

"You're forgetting something," he smugly stated. He was almost finished.

"And what would that be? I don't recall trying to remember something."

"You're forgetting that Dragons can breathe fire!" With a close-ranged blast of flames, both were engulfed in flames. The armor that protected Zeke was coated in a fire resistant liquid, but soon it would burn away. He only had a limited amount of time to cast based on his mana anyways.

"Ow! That's really hot! Stop it!" Zept's cloths were quickly burning away and harming him. After a few seconds, the heat and flames cut off and the rest dispersed. Zeke saw man with brown and white hair trying madly to protect his remaining health by patting out the flames. His clothes were almost non existent. Good thing underwear couldn't be removed that easily.

"Do you give up?" Zeke didn't want to kill him. He didn't want to even hurt him that bad. But he would if he had to.

"Stop attacking me! I'll stop! I wont ever do it again!"

"Good. Now get up and hand over your weapons."

"What about my protection from enemies? How will I survive?"

"We will protect you. Until we get back to town that is." Zeke turned around as he felt uncomfortable around a naked guy. "Who hired you anyways?"

"It was a girl. She had hot pink hair and she was kind of crazy. But not that it matters to you!"

"Zeke! Look out!" [Dark_Hand] was suddenly there and Zeke turned as fast as he could. Zept had swung his sword, but it was countered by a shortsword.

"Y-you killed me. I-I hope yo-you're happy, y-you betraying bit-" His words were cut off by his death, causing an bright explosion of pixels and particles, all a deep shade of purple. A battle report appeared in front of Zeke. He read it quickly before closing it.

_Congratulations__, MetalDargon!_

_EXP: 487_

_Gil: 19868_

_Items: Wicked Longsword of the Skeleton King, x93 Throwing Knife, x2 Bottled Water, x6 Bread (B Class), Obsidian Helm of Darkness, x2 Teleport Crystal (Small), x17 Health Potion (Medium)(1.5 Density), x5 Health Potion (Medium), x4 Akon Wood, Akon Head, Terms of Assassination_

"You're welcome." [Dark_Hand] punched Zeke in the arm, which made him wince from instinct and he rubbed his shoulder. He almost missed the pain canceling thing until it came to the huge gash in his other shoulder. It was still dripping the bright red pixelated blood as always, but at least it wasn't hanging off like he thought it would. His arm wasn't severed.

"Uh, thanks. For saving me. I really couldn't have done it without you. So, yeah." [Dark_Hand] turned away before flicking away the fading blood from her blade. She looked really cool standing there with her blade to her side, shining in the torch light.

"Well, it doesn't really matter right now. If you look over at the rest of our guild, you'll see they need some assistance. We're not out of this mess yet. Though I don't mind it getting a bit worse, to be honest." Zeke pulled up him menu and pulled out one of the denser potion and quickly gulped it down. It felt heavier than normal, but his health quickly shot up and his wound healed. Not entirely, but well enough to move again. It was great.

Lastly, he pulled up his equipment and moved the Wicked Longsword onto himself. A heavy sheathe appeared on his belt and an extra belt attached over his shoulder. He felt the weight instantly shift. Zeke wasn't really used to having a sword strapped like this. He had always had it on his back. Navigating his menu quickly, he optimized the sheathe to be across his back. The belt readjusted and the blade rested heavily on his back.

"Are you finished?"

"Yeah. I'm ready. Let's go." Zeke drew the new blade. It was heavy and the serrated edge sent chills down his spine. Still, this blade was better than the dagger he was forced to use. With a forward step, Zeke ran into the battle. [Dark_Hand] was right behind him.

* * *

**I'm gonna cut it here. **

**I really enjoyed the whole battle scene, even if it was difficult to write. It was really cool. And no, I'm not any kind of craft. If you also remember from the second chapter, the very end, that pink haired girl? Does something sound familiar? Yup. **

**Anyways, I have been really busy making videos. With the fact that I'm using a buggy recording software, mixed with my inexperience, it has been really difficult to record good videos. But you can go check me out all the same. **** channel/UCS277ipIywhZ_1JON05ngAA Just put that in the URL thing and go! I hope it's okay. **

**I'm trying to write fast enough to post often, but this was all a hobby of mine. My speed has dropped since I've become interested in girls and games, I guess. Just life. So I'm sorry if you really enjoy this series and aren't getting the content you want. I'm just busy with what I want. I'm selfish that way.**

**Until next time! LowePlays, signing out.**


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